Recently Mr. Small Town and I have been giving the kid more freedom about when he actually falls asleep. We say goodnight and put him in his room at a specified time. He is free to read, draw, etc., until he feels sleepy. The only problem with this new plan is that the kid doesn’t seem to be able to settle himself down to sleep as early as we’d like. We still get him up at the same time each day, hoping his lack of sleep will correct the issue.
As we started getting ready for bed last night, I felt particularly ‘unconnected’ to him. I realized that I missed our connection time at bedtime, talking about his day and then singing songs to settle him down. So, I decided to stay with him. After an hour and a half of reading books, jumping around in bed, and watching silly videos he made on his video recorder, his body finally settled down next to mine. I rubbed his back and sang his favorite song. My eyes could barely stay open by this time, and I asked him to rub my back.
As he started to rub my back, he told me that he could feel the tension in my back muscles. He told me to relax and not to worry so much about him. He said, “I would never do anything to hurt you, mom. I’m going to be okay. You’re the best mom, and I love you.” With that, my body finally relaxed, and the last thing I remember was his arm around my shoulders and his head buried into my arm.
This morning, as I reflected on our time together last night, God gave me a ‘word picture.’ In the picture, He has his arm around me, telling me to relax and not to worry so much about Ryan. He hears my prayers, Mr. Small Town’s prayers, the kid’s grandparents’ prayers, and everyone who loves this kid’s prayers. He’s going to take care of the kid – relax. Just like I connected with the kid last night and got him to settle down, my Heavenly Father was connecting with me to settle me down.
As I write this, I have to smile because as I look up from my computer, I see the verse that I put up on the wall a few years back as a reminder.
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Well, friends, I think that sums it all up. It’s a good thing I had the foresight to put that verse where I can see it every day! It’s a reminder to stop, breathe, and relax. God has much bigger plans for the kid, Mr. Small Town, and me than I can ever imagine.
The Small Town Girl
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