Since COVID, I have been clueless as to what day it is, what time it is, etc. I am pretty good about looking at my calendar to keep up, but if you ask me in “pop quiz” fashion, I usually stammer, pause, and have to think long and hard about what day it is.
Terry and I have been acting like teenagers who have been left home, alone, with no adult supervision. We play cards until the wee hours of the morning and watch Big Bang Theory recordings and/or movies. The other night we rolled into bed around 2:30. I kid you not. 2:30 AM. But we weren’t sleepy yet. So we read for a while. I was researching new dishes I wanted to create at home and emailing ideas to myself.
The next day I woke up and it was still really dark, but I couldn’t go back to sleep. I knew if I kept tossing and turning I would wake Terry, so I climbed out of bed, grabbed my glasses and phone off the nightstand and tip-toed into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I tapped my phone to see what time it was, imagine my shock when it said 1:15.
1:15 PM. It was dark because of the thunderstorms. My first response was guilt. I felt guilty for sleeping in that late. My second response was, “Well, where do you have to be, and what deadline do you have today?” My third response was I started giggling. I was actually giggling as I brushed my teeth.
I cannot tell you the last time in my life I slept until 1:15 PM. Then again, I cannot tell you the last time in my adult life I went to bed after 3:00 AM. At least we are getting caught up on our rest and sleep during this time, and for that I am extremely grateful.
I find myself resting in peace when I am well rested. The more sleep-deprived I am, the more the enemy loves to taunt me and interrupt my focus. But the more rested I am, the more my mind is at peace, the more my heart is at rest and the more my focus remains on Jesus.
“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” - Psalm 4:8 (NLT)
We have to learn to listen to our bodies in order to rest and heal.
We also have to learn to listen to The Holy Spirit in order for our hearts and minds to rest and heal. There are days when we are just too exhausted to focus on what we know is right, and we focus on the “what ifs” and the gloom and doom. When we allow our hearts and minds to be at rest, we know “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.”
When our hearts, our minds, our souls, our bodies are all focused on glorifying living for God, then and only then are we able to say “in peace we will lie down and sleep, for the Lord alone will keep me safe.”