Thirteen O'clock
Lately I spend a lot of sleepless nights. Or more accurately, sleepless periods during the night. I have no problem getting to sleep. It's more a problem of staying asleep.
Tonight I can blame it on my wife. (Isn't that convenient?) Deb was on vacation for the last week and returned home last night after midnight. Having been in another time zone, and being a woman, she wanted to talk about her trip to wind down. So we lay in bed, her talking and me listening like a good husband until after 1:00AM when I finally tuned out and she tossed and turned until finally being extinguished around 3:00AM.
Tonight she was exhausted so we turned in around 9:00. She read for a short while and I watched some TV until we were both out quickly. Thirteen o'clock rolled around and I was wide awake as though waiting for more vacation tales. At first I tried to go right back to sleep but realized quickly that wasn't going to work. I prayed for a while; family, friends, needs, church, health, wisdom, forgiveness, praise. Surely praying would put me right back to sleep but, no. Not tonight, that is, this morning.
I've found that on nights like this I can become really sharp related to planning for upcoming activities, jobs or events. Sometimes I get up and go to the computer to record my thoughts. Occasionally I'll sit up on the side of the bed and jot myself a few notes. These nocturnal strategy sessions usually produce some succinct results that have proven very valuable. So here I am again.
As part of my prayer tonight I recalled the wrestling match between Jacob and the Lord. How Jacob clung to the Angel of the Lord until morning approached and in the end had a new name, a new promise and a new limp. I prayed that if this were my match I would hold on until I had seen God even if it made me limp. In the end I knew that I had touched God and He had touched me and when I return to my bed it will be in the confidence or our earliest prayers; Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray, dear Lord, my soul you'll keep. If I should die before I wake, my soul, dear Lord, I know You'll take.
Nitey, night.
Tonight I can blame it on my wife. (Isn't that convenient?) Deb was on vacation for the last week and returned home last night after midnight. Having been in another time zone, and being a woman, she wanted to talk about her trip to wind down. So we lay in bed, her talking and me listening like a good husband until after 1:00AM when I finally tuned out and she tossed and turned until finally being extinguished around 3:00AM.
Tonight she was exhausted so we turned in around 9:00. She read for a short while and I watched some TV until we were both out quickly. Thirteen o'clock rolled around and I was wide awake as though waiting for more vacation tales. At first I tried to go right back to sleep but realized quickly that wasn't going to work. I prayed for a while; family, friends, needs, church, health, wisdom, forgiveness, praise. Surely praying would put me right back to sleep but, no. Not tonight, that is, this morning.
I've found that on nights like this I can become really sharp related to planning for upcoming activities, jobs or events. Sometimes I get up and go to the computer to record my thoughts. Occasionally I'll sit up on the side of the bed and jot myself a few notes. These nocturnal strategy sessions usually produce some succinct results that have proven very valuable. So here I am again.
As part of my prayer tonight I recalled the wrestling match between Jacob and the Lord. How Jacob clung to the Angel of the Lord until morning approached and in the end had a new name, a new promise and a new limp. I prayed that if this were my match I would hold on until I had seen God even if it made me limp. In the end I knew that I had touched God and He had touched me and when I return to my bed it will be in the confidence or our earliest prayers; Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray, dear Lord, my soul you'll keep. If I should die before I wake, my soul, dear Lord, I know You'll take.
Nitey, night.
posted by Dad at
2:05 AM
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