Sleepless Nights

I am 39 weeks and one day pregnant with baby girl. Each day feels like a week, and each night even longer with contractions, insomnia, heartburn, and just an aching body. I know the reality - that it will all be over SO soon and I will have sleepless nights with a newborn (and three others who wake up occasionally). And the even greater reality - that one day I will get a full night of rest every night and I will be sad because my babies are all grown up.

I found this article on the Desiring God blog and just love the reminder that it provides to trust in the Lord for each moment, even when I am exhausted!

Sleeplessness causes us to look away from ourselves — our capacity, our resources, our energy reserve, our mental acumen, our physical strength, and our careful planning and scheming — and it causes us to rely solely on him who “does not faint or grow weary” (Isaiah 40:28). It is there, in the middle of the night, with the baby — or computer, or hospital IV, or mental stressor — that we find ourselves coming to the end of ourselves. And the end of ourselves is a very good place to be.

The reason we fear sleeplessness so much is because we know that we will come face to face with our limitations, our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities. We will find we are not all-sufficient, that we cannot provide what we need to get through the next day. But “fear not,” our Father tells us, “for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

God himself is the only All-Sufficient One. He always has been. He always will be. He brings sleeplessness into our lives so that we will remember this. In this place of exhaustion, we find God’s grace to be ever present.