Thoughts while not sleeping

"sleep departed from my eyes"

Genesis 31:40

I wasn't sleeping well a few weeks ago.  Back when I mentioned I was troubled. 

I might have been having insomnia because I was troubled.  Or maybe insomnia is why I was troubled.

I'm not troubled anymore.

And the beautiful thing is, the thing that was troubling me hasn't changed, but I got my perspective back.  God's in His heaven, all's right with the world.  

But back to when I had insomnia.  Well, let's get back to talking about insomnia.  I don't really want to go back to having it...

I never have any trouble falling asleep.  My problem is that once I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm wide awake.  I lie there thinking about things like where I left my watch, and wondering about things like did I transfer the wash to the dryer, and worrying about things like do I have enough buttermilk for lunch tomorrow?

Yes, buttermilk.  For Buttermilk Soup, actually.  Sooo good.  Cut a potato into chunks, and boil them until just fork-tender.  Put them in a bowl, sprinkle them with sea salt, then pour cold buttermilk over them.  Top with caramelized onions.

I know, but it totally works. 

Anyhow, whenever I'm lying in bed wishing I could sleep, my best bet is to lie as still as I can.  Resist the urge to toss and turn.  Refuse to allow myself to turn over and look at the clock.  I lie perfectly still, and I keep my eyes closed.  In other words, I go through the motions of sleeping.

When my kids were little, and they would tell me they couldn't sleep, I would tell them to lie still and not move.  I told them that even if they weren't sleeping, their bodies could still be resting if they were completely relaxed.

I'm not entirely sure that's true, but it makes sense.  And I do know that I have a better chance of falling back asleep if I'm not continually rearranging, and stressing over every tick of the clock. 

So there I was,  willing myself to lie as still as I could, and you know what verse I found myself thinking of?  2 Thessalonians 3:13 ~ "do not grow weary..." 

Ironic, huh?

The entirety of the verse is, "But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good."  But I think the way I was hearing it in my head was "do not give up."  I knew that if I kept on doing what I was doing ~ lying completely still, even though I had the urge to fidget ~ I would fall back asleep. 

This, my friends, is the nature of perseverance.  Knowing that if we just keep doing what we're doing, even if it seems futile, we will be rewarded.  We need to have faith with the path we're on, with what He has led us to, and carry on without wavering.  Galatians 6:9 says it beautifully:  "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Stay the course.  You know what to do; just keep doing it.

~ "you must continue in the things 

which you have learned and been assured of,

knowing from whom you have learned them" ~

2 Timothy 3:14

~