What was THAT?

Most families have at least one snorer, right? Stereotypically we always think it is the guy in the house making all that noise. But I must confess that I come from a long line of down right raucus honkers! And, for the record, the guy in the house snores too, but he has nothing on the nasal caucophony that comes out of my mouth when I hit the R.E.M. sleep.

As if the snoring is not enough, my child "B" will, from time to time, crawl into bed with us. This usually causes "the shuffle." B climbs into our bed and one of us climbs out of bed in search of a quieter, less crowded place to sleep.

This was the scene last night at my house. We had all settled back in for the night--dad in the guest room =) and mom and B in the master bedroom. This was all fine until I was startled awake by a big THUD! The moment every parent dreads had come--my child had fallen out of bed.


B immediately started crying, mostly because B was very scared. And who wouldn't be? When we are deep in sleep there is nothing like a loud snore, or a loud noise, or contact with the floor to scare the daylights out of you.

So what happens when we are shaken out of our daily slumber--when something unexpected startles us awake and scares the daylights out of us? Maybe the disruption is a unwelcomed diagnosis, or the death of a friend, or a change in work life. Whatever it may be, when the unexpected jolts us awake, I think God is especially present in those times.

The moment I realized my child had fallen, I instinctively lept out of bed and scooped her up in my arms to make sure B was okay and to comfort B. Is this not what God does for us? The Psalmist said it perfectly in Psalm 121: "...He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand."

God is like a mother who scoops her children up off of the floor and comforts us when we are hurt, confused or scared. Though we never outgrow the fear of the unexpected and the unwelcomed, there is something reassuring about knowing that God is always with us.

Journey on...