How are you sleeping? I have always been an early riser, but becoming a parent put a whole new spin on that question. Once I had children, my sleep patterns changed. I’m not sure they’ve ever recovered, to be honest.
There are some things we can’t avoid when raising children. As parents, there are a plethora of things we can’t avoid. For example, there’s no way out of sleepless nights, potty training, skinned knees, and many, many tears. Just like we can’t avoid the hard things of parenting, not everything is negative. The positives far outweigh the negatives: the first word, the first step, the first laugh, graduation, marriage, and perhaps the best of all, grandchildren.
Of course, no one is sleeping
I find it curious how much energy we put into lessening the negatives we face when raising kids. There’s an abundance of theories on how to get our newborn babies to sleep all night. The inevitable question, “How are you sleeping?” is bound to come up at some point. Of course, no one is sleeping those first weeks, maybe not even during the first several months. And for some children, sleepless nights last even longer as they resist every technique known to mankind. Two of my four children fell into the category of “resistant sleepers.” The dark circles under my eyes testify to many midnight hours of rocking, praying, pleading, and halfway dozing in my chair with my baby in my arms. I have come to the conclusion that once we think we know how to get it done, the next child will prove us wrong.
My firstborn, Tom, didn’t fit into any molds. He was born with a mission in mind and had to know how everything worked and why. I didn’t sleep well for a year after he was born because he was too busy to sleep. Our second born, our daughter Mandy, was the polar opposite. She loved to sleep and play. By the time I had numbers three (son Steve) and four (daughter Andreya), I realized that much of what I used to think was important really didn’t matter at all.
How are you sleeping? You need the rest
Following a schedule, for example, which is not a bad thing, isn’t essential (I found out later) for my kids to thrive. It’s ok if, as they grow older, they do not have a strict bedtime. Instead of fighting with them, I began letting them push the envelope a bit. They thought they could handle a later bedtime until I woke them up early for school the next morning. After a few days, they went to bed earlier on their own.
God advises us like this. He’s not about to get into a full-on shouting match with us about what He wants us to do. He tells us, “Get to bed; you need the rest.” But, for whatever reason, we act like stubborn children and choose not to listen. As a wise parent, there’s a point in our lives when God lets us face the consequences of our choices. The difference between us and God is that God doesn’t need sleep. If you ask Him, “How are you sleeping?” He will simply reply in kind and ask, “How are you sleeping?”
Too tired to stay up late
"Shall I look to the mountain gods for help? No! My help is from Jehovah who made the mountains! And the heavens too! He will never let me stumble, slip, or fall. For he is always watching, never sleeping." Psalm 121:1-4 TLB
God is a Father who loves us no matter how many times we have gone to bed too late. And, when we really get into trouble, He will step in and hold us up when the world feels like it’s caving in. He is always ready to advise us, even if we resist after He has rescued us. Thankfully, He never tires because, unlike us, He doesn’t need sleep. Our Father knows that there will come a time when we become too tired to stay up late.
On a side note, another change in me as a parent as I’ve grown older is found in my lunch offerings for my fourth child, our bonus baby. Yesterday, she had samosas (a fried, slightly spicy meat pie that is the food of heaven) and marshmallows for lunch. I was tempted to feel “parent shame” until my oldest son (who I had messaged her menu to) said, “It’s ok. Let her enjoy life.”
The student has become the teacher!
