Last night, just after 3 a.m., I heard a desperate cry for momma. Before I was completely awake, I was navigating our youngest’s room in the dark, not sure what I would find. My hands found her head and before I could even kiss her, she announced the need to “go to the ‘west room’ .” So we took care of business and I tucked her back in and headed back to bed… only to be keenly aware that the sudden jolting from my bed had my body confused… and wide awake.
I laid in bed, praying, pondering worship the next morning, refusing to turn the T.V., and watching the minutes click by on the clock until 45 minutes later I heard a door click and creek open. Anticipating the arrival of our 3 year old, I rolled over and prepared to cuddle with her. We moved to our “rocky chair” in the living room with the blanket I made for her.
At 4:25, I took her to bed and returned to my place beside my husband, only to remain awake. A few minutes after 5, I hear the same click and creek. And a tiny body joins me under the covers. She whispers in her tiny voice that she is having a hard time sleeping. I confess that I am, too. Somehow, though, our breathing slows and we both drift off.
The alarm goes off to get ready for church but I miss it. (This frustrated me, but didn’t surprise me.) I pushed “go” on the coffee maker and headed back to our bedroom. Jacob looked at me and responded that his head was hurting. After the night we had, “Why don’t we stay home and rest more?”
Please understand, this isn’t normal for us. If one of the girls is sick, an adult stays home with her, but the rest of us go to church. We don’t skip church. This morning, it felt different, though. I climbed back in bed beside our sleeping daughter and found rest easily. We woke up several hours later, better prepared to face the day.
We finally drank the coffee that was waiting and ate breakfast. Then Jacob went to the fridge with a small glass. I wondered what he was doing. He poured a little bit of blueberry juice into the glass and brought a leftover biscuit with it to the table. He left and came back with 2 more glasses and his Bible. He read from 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and we talked about the symbolism of what Jesus was doing. We talked about remembering and proclaiming; that the Lord’s Supper is for us, those who know Him, but also for those who, like our 3 year old, don’t have a relationship with Him, yet.
Later, I stumbled upon the streaming service of the church my brothers’ families attend. The pastor was preaching about our struggle to control our lives. He reminded us of Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (NASB)
This morning, we needed rest. We realized that, physically. In seeking physical rest, we found spiritual rest through a change in pace, worshipping together around the Table at our table, and remembering that “it is finished”. We had some time of Sabbath.
I look forward to worshipping with our church family tonight, but I cherish the time we shared this morning.
Dirty Dishwater, Holy Hands 