You might find it odd that one of my favorite verses in scripture is Proverbs 31:18b which says (about the proverbial) Proverbs 31 woman, “Her lamp does not go out at night.” I figured this woman had energy!
I’ve also figured out that she must have been tired at times because “she looks well to the way of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness” (vs. 27). She must’ve been doing things at hours no one else really knew about, cared about, or that she shared about with others. That’s where I’ll make a lane change.
I’m still getting up most every night with our son who is 34!
When young moms talk about their 6 month old child still not sleeping through the night, I raise my eyebrows. I think but don’t verbalize, “You’re kidding me, right?” because I know, it’s hard getting up a few times a night, nursing a baby, and doing life the next day with one eye shut and the other half opened. It’s not easy. I listen to Mrs. Young Mom, realizing I never left that stage of life!
Every so often, I want to say, “When will my son sleep through the night?!” Clarifying every so often: I mean most every night. Not always twice a night. Sometimes he gets up 3 or 4 times. He packs and unpacks his bag of goodies to take to stay at Aunt Sue’s house. The bag contains no clothes, just games. When I hear his bedroom door open, I know he’s going to his bag (which he insists on keeping in the foyer and which he makes clunky noises when he’s going through it). I know I need to get downstairs and redirect him, or he’ll be at it for hours. I really think he’s doing inventory but at all hours of the night, it’s just not cute! (Cute applies to 3 year olds…not 34!)
Yes, we’ve put the bag in different places; we’ve hidden the bag, and even thought of tossing it. If it weren’t the bag, it would be a suitcase. If it weren’t the suitcase it would be … fill in the blank.
I digress; he’s still getting up most nights twice, along with a nightly sneeze at 11:30 to wake us up but he can go back to slumbering! I’m not looking for an answer or solution, for after 34 years, we’ve really tried most everything. Some may want to offer solutions, but if you do, you’ll need to take him for 2 weeks to be sure you nip for us this, OK?
So, here is what I have come to learn about this dearly loved verse and how it applies to me:
- God made me energetic. It’s such a good thing, because most people can’t function on this little sleep.
- God allow me to be a stay at home mom (and able to sneak in a 10 minute snooze).
- I’ll never be idle.
- God allows me to go right back to sleep. (This served me well during child-rearing years as well as menopause years … that’s for another blog!)
- God gave me parents and in-laws (now deceased); a sister, two lovely daughters, and some friends and other family who helped out when a break was/is needed! Sometimes (most times) we have to ask, because they don’t know our sleep schedule or lack thereof!
- I’m thankful I’m still able to make it up and down our stairs numerous times a night.
- But I am still wondering: When will MY son sleep through the night?
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Oh my goodness, Cindi, I didn’t realize Joey still gets up during the night. We dealt with that for 12 years when Joel was having manic swings. And I am NOT a naturally energetic person! I did a lot of napping during the day back then. I praise God that He has given you the energy you need for your daily/nightly routine. And praying that your lamp, even though burning, may be turned down to a lower setting more often! And the same for all the other moms and dads out there who live with sleep deprivation!
My daughter is only 8, but this is so familiar to me. She has Smith-Magenis Syndrome and along with other issues, her body produces melatonin during the day, so she is up a lot at night. I’m used to the lack of sleep now, but asking the same question—When will she sleep through the night? Thanks for the great post! It can be hard to stay encouraged when people have no clue what you deal with on a daily/nightly basis.
Yes! Ours is medical checks & “I’m cold!” multiple times. Thanks for letting me hear this verse in a new way.