Penny For Your Thoughts

Bill said, “I have said a lot of negative things about Walmart but I love those people!”  It was a little before 3 AM and I think he was delusional.  Sleep deprivation due to a sick child will do that to you.   But, I had to admit that I was also relieved there was a store available at such an hour to help us and it was hard to believe that some people were actually working at that hour… an hour where I would have normally been sleeping.

I treasure my sleep.  Truly.  I would rather have sleep than just about anything and when I am awakened before I want to be, I am not always a nice person.  I have been known to kick Bill from the bed to answer a child’s call, although my guilt often keeps me from drifting back to sleep.  That was the case several times this week as we battled a stomach flu and a sinus infection, not in the same child and not on the same nights.

Halfway through the week when I was feeling especially cranky, Bill and I curled up together for our evening prayer and the realization hit me that this is not a burden but a privilege.  Maybe I do not function as well on less sleep but I cannot look at it as a inconvenience.  These moments are available for me to show my child that I can be there when they need me.  I can meet their needs. They are loved unconditionally, regardless of the hour.  And, my habitual prayer for a peaceful night of rest was changed.

“Father, if you give me the opportunity to be a mother in the middle of the night, I will thank you.”

I think God nodded and said, “Glad you are ready because tonight will be a doosie!” A huge chunk of my blissful rest was surrender to cuddling with a very sick toddler in the recliner.  I kind of enjoy it, minus the yucky smell. 

Consider the moments you face today and check to see if there is a different way to look at the situation.  Just be prepared for a trip to Walmart in the wee small hours of the morning.