Naptime

Watching my daughter fall asleep at nap time makes me think of surrendering to the Lord.

Our usual routine for nap time that starts shortly after lunch is she uses the bathroom, then we read a book, then she lays down and I sing a couple, uh, several--eh hem-- 23 songs to her while I rub her head or back until she is mostly drowsy. Most days I leave right before she actually falls asleep, but sometimes I just have to stay until her little eyes are closed and her breathing is slow and regular. Partly for my Mommy satisfaction of seeing a peaceful 2 year old and partly because sometimes she just has a dang hard time winding down to take an afternoon nap. (Shout out to my other moms of toddlers! You know).
Many days at nap time Ellie is fighting sleep. I know she probably just doesn't want to miss anything, but I've read that it's not unusual for 2 year olds to struggle with winding down for a nap because their little brains are taking in and processing SO MUCH new information all day.

It's so funny when she is fighting sleep and I'm just thinking, "Relax. Give in. Just fall asleep and you'll wake up feeling rested and feel better." As I stroke her forehead, her eyes droop, then pop back open. Sometimes they do this roll around thing, like they can't decide if their actually gonna close and give into to sleep or not.  Sometimes this takes 5 minutes, other times 20 minutes or more and those are the times when I get really frustrated and start losing my patience and can't believe that she is actually fighting doing something that will be good for her! (And her mommy!)

So that's why it always reminds me of surrendering to the Lord. I think He's often saying something similar to ME. "Relax, Ashley. Give in! Rest in Me and you will feel better." Just like my daughter, I don't want to miss a thing-- and I like to have a little bit of control of what's going on around me. Surrendering means giving up some of that control. That sounds a little scary to me, but in my head I KNOW it will bring me more peace in the end. Just like a nap for a 2 year old.

So, I leave you with Philippians 4:6 and Proverbs 3:5-6. (Annnnd that's just the tip of the iceberg for scriptures on surrender. If you want more references, let me know!)