DO WE EVER SLEEP?

It's not uncommon for us to be asked if we EVER sleep...to which we usually reply, "Yes...No...It's a season..."

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

We realize this season of comforting little ones in the night will be missed one day, and so for now, we don't always sleep (though much of the time we do) ...and both are alright with us because we're parenting our children at night.

With the amount of little sleepers in our home, someone is bound to come into our room at one point each night and if not, one of the babies that nest in our room will surely wake. But to be honest, we love the snuggles and know they will soon be gone.

Surely, we will long for the day when our babies, toddlers, and every now and then our "big" kids needed us in the night. Surely, one day we will remember fondly rubbing backs and singing La La Lu to precious children who once needed us. They grow up quickly, so we're savoring the affection while it's ours to enjoy.

I remember when Aida, our oldest and first, was little and we made a choice to allow her into our bed when needed. Well-meaning advise givers warned us repeatedly that she'd never turn out normal...but she has, and we did, and we don't regret it one bit!

I remember having co-sleeping newborns over the years and thinking each time that I'd never get a full night's sleep ever-never-ever again. But they each grew up, sleep all night long most nights now (in their own beds), and I miss them sometimes.

So, I tiptoe into their rooms and check on them, so big, so self-sufficient. Why do children look so adorable and sinless when they sleep?! Give me five minutes of sleeping children after a day when I thought I really needed a BIG break and I'm thinking, I miss them already!

 

Of course, the goal is to bottle that "missing them" feeling before they're asleep, to remember how much we love them when we think we're too weary to give, to embrace our role as a caregiver who CARES.

 (Even when we're tired.)

 

Perspective...it's powerful. When we take our thoughts captive and intentionally shift our thoughts and heart's motives to give of ourselves what's needed, when needed, the needs indeed go away. They don't linger when met, they dissipate with comfort and compassion and hopefully render a wholehearted child who's received what they deserve and long for most of all...LOVE.

So, do we EVER sleep? Sure we do, but when we don't, we choose to like that too and hopefully someday when we look back on these years, we'll remember them fondly.

"LOVE is patient and kind; LOVE does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. LOVE bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. LOVE never ends." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you." Isaiah 30:19

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you." Isaiah 66:13

"As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him." Psalm 103:13

(La La Lu...One of our all time favorite lullabies.)

 

(Sleep Sound in Jesus...All of our children have fallen asleep to this CD over the past 12 years...It's a beloved staple.)

 

"For he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward."

Psalm 127: 2-3