This boy.
We should have named this boy Houdini.
All last week he escaped his crib in the pitch black dark of his bedroom, over the side rail and via the changing table, dropping fearless down to the floor. At 2am he greets me nose-to-nose, eyeball-to-eyeball over the edge of my bed.
It’s equal parts unsettling and adorable.
He stage-whispers, “Hi mama. I got out.”
So, in the now-familiar ritual I reach for his hand and we softly pad back through the blackness to his bed.
And the cycle begins again.
Transitioning him to a “big boy bed” this week has not helped. Rather it has racheted up the level of his nocturnal curiosity. He explores the bathroom and its contents. He clambers into bed with us. He wants to be held. He wants to talk.
He wants to sing.
Over and over he wants me to sing to him. The same lullaby over and over until it is barely a song anymore. It is the desperate, whispered plea of a mother who craves sleep more than anything else in the world. Sleep and release from the needs of another.
And when it’s over, when the whining and cajoling and huffing and puffing and tiny toenails digging into my side is over — when he falls asleep against his will — I am desperately relieved.
Because it means I am free.
Free to focus on my own needs. I water my hoarse throat, roll over and pass into oblivion under my blankets. And the only fleeting thought I give to him is the desperate hope that he doesn’t wake up again before my alarm clock.
My parenting is limited by my own limitations.
So, when I read this I was gob-smacked. Inconceivable exhaustion. Unrelatable joy.
God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
~Psalm 42:5-7 (The Message)
He sings songs all through the night.
all though the night.
ALL. THROUGH. THE. NIGHT.
Over me.
On purpose.
While I am sleeping. He is not.
Because He is singing over me.
and
He is singing over you.
Just because He wants to.
All. Through. The. Night.
Chew that over and come back and tell me how it makes you feel. I hope it rocks your world like it rocked mine. Here’s to a weekend of rest, in every sense of the word.
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A beautiful image–we serve an awesome God! I have to admit, though, that I’m still sleepy after four years of sleep deprivation!
I love it. You are maybe the fourth or fifth person who has brought up this scripture in the last two days – it is obviously something I need to hear!
After a week of hospitals and doctor visits for my sick husband, I’m grateful for the chance to rest this weekend, too.
I hope it has been a refreshing rest. And I hope there has been healing and peace for your husband! That is the hardest kind of sleepleness.
Awwww, I love this so much. So, so so very much. Thank you…
That is spectacular! Knowing HOW much God loves us. The way that He cares for us. That is a an absolute GEM to meditate upon. He sings over us all through the night. BEAUTIFUL!
Thank YOU! I love that I could just hear your enthusiasm pouring out through the ALL CAPS! I am a big all caps gal myself
Sometimes you just need them so that folks can “hear” what you are trying to type.
Wow. What an encouragement that verse is to a weary heart (and body…the five year old was up from 2 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. last night, fell back asleep just in time for his sister to wake me up at 6!)
Thanks for sharing it!
Love that metaphor! Here’s to hoping your little guy will soon get into a routine that doesn’t involve night waking.
How He loves us! Let us learn to find rest in that love, even when we have no rest in our natural lives.
Your scripture led me back to Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Thank you for the reminder of this beautiful verse. What a gift. Thank you.
Such a beautiful picture of our Lord singing over us, in our sleep no less. I pray you are able to feel rested today, or catch a good power nap if needed. And tonight, I’ll be looking at the scripture of God singing over me. I haven’t read that one in a while. It’s worth another look, and another, and another…..
Power naps are my best friend in the world!
We’ve started a new study on Sunday morning about adversity in our lives by Charles Stanley and all week I’ve seen verses through devotions or blogs about God’s promises. I printed yours, as well as others, to use the next time I teach on the 31st. His Word is amazing and is so full of His love for us. I saw a tweet last night where someone wrote something about us never knowing just how much He loves us. So true…Thanks for sharing. Remember the season you are in…and this too, shall pass!! God Bless…
I love this – it is no accident that God paints the picture of Himself as our Father. We understand the love of a parent – in a limited, not-nearly-the-same kind of way, we can relate to how He loves us.
Thank you for sharing this picture – when I am frustrated and at my wit’s end with my own children, it is humbling to think how much God loves me, even as He deals with all my junk!
I heard a song with those very words in it today! I don’t know what it’s call, but it was awesome!
Whatever it is each of us does, eventually we all reach the end of ourselves. Each of us limited by our own limitations, but invited to serve a God with no limits. It is an amazing thing…
Oooh, that’s a good word for me. I am NOT a nice person – or a good mama – when I’m woken up in the middle of the night!
I’m so thankful that God never gets tired, worn out or too busy with my like I do so many times with my children. I could feel your exhaustion and oh boy, have I been there too. All mothers/parents have with their children. Just very, very thankful we serve a God who never sleeps!
The comfort in imaging this, the way you so perfectly described and emphasized for us…it’s just humbling and exciting all at the same time. I needed this.
xoxo
Arianne
I enjoyed reading this my children are grown up I now have beautiful grandson just over eight months ago can’t believe that God has given us such a lovely boy but I was blessed to read that bible verse to know that he loves me some time that is breath taking
It’s been awhile since I’ve been here… and apparently I have much catching up to do… but thank you for this sweet reminder, much like Zeph. 3:17… I will be thinking of this and savoring the idea that God is singing over me as I’m up nursing a sweet baby boy through the night
This post just spoke to me. Maybe it’s because, with a 4 week old, I am a walking zombie desperate for any stolen bit of sleep I can find. I love the idea of him singing over me…all through the night.
This is exactly how I first fell in love with this verse! When my now two-year-old was only days old and I was reacquainting myself with those long, early morning nursing sessions. When I stumbled across this verse my mouth literally fell open and it was amazing to me to realize that when I crawled back into bed desperate for a few hours of shut eye, God just kept right on rocking me and singing sweet lullabies over me.
It changed so many things for me!
Blessings on you both in the wee hours!
As a mother of 4 boys, that Hod never sleeps has always struck me as miraculous. I have taken comfort in it many times and used it with the boys during a season of terrifying nightmares… He is worthy to be Praised for this and all his blessings!
What a great way to use that verse – as an encouragement to frightened kids as well as tired parents! I will have to remember that one.