while she sleeps

It's after midnight as I slip into bed and find this little imp snuggled up cozy on Daddy's side. "When did she slip in here? " I wonder. And I stop, as all mothers before me do when the day has been full and fast and there's been little room for a pregnant pause.  The tears slip down my tired, freshly scoured cheeks as I watch her so peaceful, stuffed lamb on her chest, Mom's quilt wrapped tight around her, Daddy's pillow bunched beneath her head of unruly curls.

I wonder what it is about this space that makes it so easy to fall asleep?  She has a room tailored to her own likes and dislikes, her favorite colour, pink, horses, loads of horses, stuffed animals, pretty dresses and dolls, her own collected treasures lining EVERYTHING, her older adored sister close by her side;  but instead I find her here.

The world outside the walls of this house is crazy it seems. Shootings even just today, too close to home, racial divides, presidential debates loom in the very near future making everyone feel uneasy, financial trials, families pulled apart, undervalued, under-celebrated, bombings and destruction, people fleeing for their lives, hungry, homeless, insecurity, loneliness, uncertain is all that is certain.  Except maybe, the scent of your Daddy, the warmth of your mama, their presence makes real rest a possibility.

And isn't it the same with our father God? More so even. When we've found those moments of breathless closeness, experienced the scent of HIS presence, the embrace of HIS unmeasurable love, isn't it only then, that we can put aside the worries, fears and hurts of this confusing life that leave us feeling so uncertain and rest, and heal, and feel peace?

Mark 6: 31 "Jesus said to them, Come away with me.  Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest."