We Survived!

Wow! What a night my wife and I endured Sunday night. I know it’s all a part of parenting and life in general, but it’s been a long time since we had a night like last night. To set it up, one of the girls was sick all day Saturday, but seemed to be some better Sunday although still laying around and running some fever. Everything seemed normal and on schedule when we went to bed, but sleep would be a long time coming. We spent some time talking through some things/decisions we’re processing right now (normal part of marriage right?) and for whatever reason we were already having some trouble falling asleep. That’s when the fun began. Our baby woke up and wouldn’t go back to sleep and the sick girl suddenly picked up where she had left off Saturday except this time it’s in the middle of the night. So there was no rest for either of us as one was required for each situation (putting the baby to sleep and caring for the sick child). Lately I’ve been thinking about self (as the Bible refers to it) quite a bit, and there’s nothing quite like sleep deprived night to put one to the test. When my comforts and “right to a good night’s sleep” get taken away the natural/old man seems quite willing to shine through. The fortunate part of last night’s episode was the battle/conversation was between God, John, and the evil one not directed at another person. In the beginning my attitude wasn’t exactly on the right side of the fence, but thankfully my focused shifted and a better perspective was attained. Nothing accomplishes that quicker than a few thoughts from God reminding me that it is a special blessing just to be able to hold and rock my precious little son (the baby) and he’s healthy too. I suppose I should have been expecting something like this as I’ve preached on the subject of self vs. selflessness a fair bit lately and often if you preach/teach on something you can expect to be tested in that very thing. I really do want to live an “others oriented” life, but I sure like to look out for my personal well-being. Thanks be to God for His all-sufficient grace and the patience and mercy He extends to us!