The last few days, we’ve been talking about feeling stretched thin, feeling frayed and frazzled, overwhelmed with the nature of the world we find ourselves currently living in. Changes have been thrust upon us and not all of us accommodate as easily as others. I am sure we would be hard pressed to find someone who has not been affected in some negative way by the events of the last year. 

I always put my money where my mouth is, so I looked up some of the links in yesterday’s post. I read about combatting stress and weathering this particular storm. Then I did what I always do…I went to my inner sanctuary…my quiet space of meditation where I commune with God on a personal level. This is where we sit together…sometimes in quiet companionable silence…sometime in vibrant, dynamic discourse. 

These sessions all start out the same way. I get quiet. I find that stillness between my breath and my heart beat, and reach my mind out to God. He knows what I want…what I need. Far better than I. So, I find it quicker and easier to get to the point by just shutting up and listening to the lesson of the day.

As I sat there, eyes closed, breathing slow and deep, I became acutely aware of my body’s aches and pains. I felt the tension I hold between my shoulder blades…what my masseuse in Colorado referred to as my “trying too hard” spots. I felt bone weary…as though I’d run a marathon. Thoughts flitted by. “Why can’t I sleep better???” “When is this going to get easier???” “Why don’t I know how to do this by now???”

Within that space…a thought formed.

“This is the night the Lord hath made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!!”

“No” I said. “You mean this is the DAY you have made!”

“No…I mean this is the night. The day has two parts….I divided it in half. Part for work, part for rest.”

“But, I can’t sleep! I have never been able to sleep well…you know that.”

“Ahhhhh, yes….I do. But, you’ve never celebrated my gift of the night. You dread it. You are afraid of the nightmares you might have. Or the anxiety that might come. Or the hours you might have to lay there…staring at the ceiling.”

“I want to sleep. I try! I really do.”

“Then stop TRYING. And celebrate the hours I gave you for resting.”

Novel concept. I closed my eyes. I felt my face against the pillowcase. I wrapped up in my soft, fuzzy blanket and touched it to my lips. I repeated over and over in my mind. 

“This is the night the Lord hath made. This is the night the Lord hath made. This is the night the Lord hath made.”

And I woke up at 11:30 yesterday morning! Good night, nurse!!! I haven’t slept like that in….I can’t remember how long. I jumped up and went into the family room.

“Hey there, sleepyhead. How you doing?”

“What day is this?”

Mr. FixIt laughed. “Friday. I thought you must be tired so I let you sleep.”

Honestly? I felt like a new person. We got ready and went to town for a couple things. I started making arrangements for the trip to Florida next month. And I feel like a million bucks! I feel like I had a vacation. It was a remarkable different.

God gives us the days to do our deeds. But he gives us the gift of the night as our time to celebrate hours of sweet rest and slumber. I plan to approach every night in that same way…delicious anticipation of dreamless sleep…awakening refreshed and at peace. Doesn’t that sound lovely?

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“This day belongs to the Lord! Let’s celebrate and be glad today.”

Psalms 118:24 CEV