Got Sleep?

I love babies and recently one of my very closest friends gave birth to a healthy baby boy.  I went up to the hospital to see her and she looked beautiful and glowing, but exhausted.  I remember those sleepless nights.  I especially remember them after we brought the twins home from the hospital just last year.  I remember how we had to feed them 1.5 oz. of milk at a time (OH SO SLOWLY....).  It took them 45 minutes to finish a bottle and by the time I finished with both of them I got to rest my eyes for 15 minutes before #1 was ready for the next feeding!!!   I see mommies at our twin support group come in with bloodshot eyes and desperate faces, wondering "Will I EVER get sleep again?"

It is draining being a new parent no matter how many babies you bring home.  One little blessing can turn a house upside down quicker than you can say "Cafe Latte, please!"  When it is your first child you can also expect to experience the loss of independence and freedom life held before you held your little one.  It is a difficult adjustment that continues until you are an empty nester!  It does get easier as time goes by, but being a parent will always mean you consider them with every major decision and most minor ones, too! 

I woke up this morning wondering what God says on the topic.  After all, He is the Perfect Parent, and He has more children than we could even dream of!!! 

So here are a few insights I found in Scripture to encourage all you out there who are pacing the halls in the wee hours of the night: 

God knows what it is like to never sleep!
Psalm 121:1-4, "I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Children are a blessing from God.
Genesis 33:5, Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.”

God gave you your blessings and He will give you the strength to care for them!
Psalm 68:35, You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

This sleepless time is a season and when it is over it will be like water under the bridge!
Job 11:13-16, “Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,
if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.
You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.

This verse in Job tells us that no matter what we are going through if we keep our heart pure and focused on the Lord we will get through it, our problem becomes smaller, and over time it will seem insignificant, even though right now it feels ENORMOUS!!! That gives me hope and I hope it encourages you as well!  I can testify that our season of sleeplessness with the twins does feel like water under the bridge.  Likewise with our son David, who is now 8, he didn't sleep from birth until he was 4, yet it feels like a distant memory and we even laugh and tease him about it now.  :)

So be encouraged, this season of sleeplessness is just a season.  Cherish your little one, because in a blink of an eye they won't be so little anymore and you will be sleepless for other reasons, like are they home yet??????

This is Gabe, he wanted his picture in my blog this morning and it was taken during one of our family devotional times when he fell asleep!  Precious!!!