Sleep in Peace

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep...  This Wendell Berry poem came to mind. 

The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

I am so grateful that the Creator of "the grace of the world" cares for me.  I can cast all of those cares back upon Him and sleep in peace.  

"Cast all your anxieties on him, 

because he cares for you." (1Peter 5:7 ESV)

    In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

(Psalm 4:8 ESV)

As a little girl my father shared a thought with me about waking up in the night.  I have never forgotten it.  When you wake up pray!  It is quiet.  There is probably no one else in your neighborhood praying right now.  It is just you and God.  Pray!!  And sleep will come.  Try it.

My Dad

We celebrate my dad in the month of April.  He turned 68 this year.  He doesn't seem 68.  Today I looked at a few wedding pictures - of me and him.  He does look older when I see it in pictures... but every day I see him he seems the same.  Look!

That look in the picture on the right is one of my favorites!!  This is him now.  Isn't he handsome?

I cannot begin to describe to you how grateful I am for both of my parents.  I know without a doubt that they are one of the most amazing blessings I have been given.  As I celebrate my dad, I am grateful for all the ways that he has molded me.  He has instilled in me a deep love for the gospel.  I have watched him fight for the truth of Scripture since I can remember.  He loves the Word of God.  What a gift to all of our family!  He has given us a heritage that will be seen for generations - witnesses who will testify to the goodness of God long after my dad is gone.  

I can remember being little and Dad sitting beside me on my bed as I cried and cried, overcome with worry about who knows what subject - school or snakes or sisters!  He patiently answered each of my questions and helped me to learn to trust God's sovereignty.  I have so many favorite moments:  thinking I was gonna die giving birth to Victoria - and Dad standing at the foot of my bed saying "This too shall pass."; crying together for hours the day before I got married  because I would be moving from Kentucky all the way to California; hiking in the Smokey Mountains thinking a bobcat was going to get me; the joy of hearing him explain the gospel to my children, the list goes on!  

Dad is one of the hardest workers that I know.  He has also given me a love of gardening... not that I will ever be able to keep up with him!  But I find pleasure in it.  I am thankful for what I have learned from him about it.  

How can you describe your dad in one short space?  I can't.  But I know the I love him so very much, just like I love my mom.  I love to watch how both of my parents love each other.  It brings me comfort and joy and hope.  Thanks be to God for this beautiful gift.  Happy birthday, Dad.