Holy Ground

There is something about being in Jack's room late at night that makes me feel like I am truly in the presence of God. Perhaps it's the darkness. Or the stillness. The quietness. Or it could be the peacefulness and innocence of our sweet little boy sleeping in his crib. It could be all of that, but I think there's more to it.

As most of you know, despite being what we consider a near-perfect child, Jack has had some serious sleeping issues. We have only, within the last two weeks, gotten him to fall asleep on his own in his bed (and yes, he was waking 2 to 3 times a night and yes, he is 21 months old). Prior to that, he had been rocked to sleep every night and for every nap. This was awesome early on, as it provided some great bonding time for us (or for whoever was rocking him) and it was pretty easy to put him down and have him stay asleep. However, the bigger he got, the longer it would take for him to fall asleep and each time we would put him down he would wake up crying to be rocked again. Some nights, it could take 2 or 3 hours just to get him to fall asleep.

We made the decision to let him "cry" and really stick to it about a month ago. That meant NO EXCEPTIONS, even when he spent the night with Mimi and Poppa. I had talked this over with our pediatrician and had also read Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems, which I felt I had a good grasp on.


It became apparent after the first night that Jack was not going to fit the mold of any book. That night he cried for FIVE HOURS, and that was with us going in every few minutes to soothe him and let him know that we were still here. It seemed that our soothing only made things worse. As it stands today, I consider that night to be the worst of my life, but as Jack continued to cry I would remind myself that if I went in to pick him up I was negating all the crying he had already done and was setting him up for even more crying.

Praise the Lord, the next night he only cried for an hour. Pretty soon, we were able to sing to him for a few minutes and walk out with no crying at all. And now, he seems to fall asleep even as we are putting him in the bed!

Through all of this, there was one thing that sustained me. Each night as I would put Jack down, I would pray - asking the Holy Spirit to come into Jack's room and comfort him when I couldn't. I asked Him to surround Jack with His love and to continue singing to him even after I left the room. There is not a doubt in my mind that as I leave each night, my sweet baby falls asleep with the breath of the Holy Spirit in his ear.

As I pray each night, a song we used to sing at our old church keeps resurfacing in my head. It is such a comfort to me:

As the night is falling,

And the day is done,

I can hear You calling,

"Come!"

I will come,

While You sing over me.

When the darkness hides my way

I will listen until I hear you say,

"How I love you, child, I love you!

How I love you, child, I love you!

How I love you!"

I mentioned this to Phillip and he said that he is always reminded of another song, which echoes the same idea of God singing over us:

The Lord our God is with you.

He is mighty to save.

The Lord will take great delight in you.

He will quiet you with His Love.

He will rejoice over you!

He will rejoice over you!

If you could only hear his voice,

You would hear the Lord rejoice.

Rejoicing over you with singing.

This whole idea truly humbles me. And it certainly comforts me, just as I believe that the Holy Spirit comforts my little boy to sleep every night. Each night when I go into his room to kiss his cheek before I go to bed, I can sense that I am not alone. The Holy Spirit is there - comforting, calming, singing.

Praise the Lord that He is alive and working in and among us today!