A Little More Sleep

"She rises also while it is yet night, and gives food to her household and work to her maids." 
(Proverbs 31:15)

As I read this verse, I think there may be many of you out there who would like to join me in a collective groan!!!  The idea of "rising while it is yet night" is not one that appeals to me.  And fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you view this idea of getting older!!), I have arrived at a season of life where that is not generally required of me.

But once upon a time.........I was once a young mother with children to wake, feed and get to school on time.  And before that those children were even younger and not only did I "rise while it was yet night", I often spent much of the night awake with those precious children!!!  So......if you're younger than I, and you're still dealing with late-night feedings, or with children who don't want to wake up and go to school, or with all the other tasks of motherhood that often rob you of your sleep, don't think I am unsympathetic.  I do understand what it's like......I've been there.  And I'll give you the same advice that was given to me.......you can sleep when they are grown :) 

But back to the passage at hand.  I don't really think this is a verse about equating sleep deprivation with godliness!!!  Although the idea of rising in the night does make me think about being sleep deprived, which led me to the concordance to look up the word "sleep".  I found 10 verses in the book of Proverbs which use the word.  You might want to get your concordance (or go to http://www.blueletterbible.org/) and check that out.  Some interesting food for thought there.

The point I think we really need to get from this verse is that this is a disciplined, organized woman.  And, as we have noted before, she is unselfish!  She is focused on what is best for her family rather than on what is best for her.  That may be the biggest lesson we need to learn in our increasingly me-centered 21st century world!  Obviously back when this woman lived, the world was very different.  No alarm clocks, daylight-savings-time, 24 hour news channels, no central air or heat.  A lot was required to keep her household running smoothly that is not required of us.  We generally don't have to trim the lamps and light the fires when we get up. 

Even so, we each have tasks that are necessary to keep our households - and our own hearts as well - running smoothly.  In that respect, the discipline of this Proverbs 31 woman is a great example to us.  If we were to somehow put her into our modern world, we would probably find that she gets up early enough to be sure the day gets off to a good start......for herself and her family.  How that works out in my "empty nest" situation is probably vastly different from how it works for those of you with children still at home.  The point is not that we all operate on some carbon-copy schedule, but that in whatever our particular situation, we are planning well for ourselves and our household, just as this woman did.  We need to make time......for the Lord, for planning our day, for getting everybody out the door on time, for __________.  You fill in the blank for your situation!

Those of you who know me at all know that I am definitely not a morning person.  In my empty nest, that's not a real big deal.  Back when I was a mother of school-age children and when I worked outside the home, it was a lot bigger deal.  Because I'm not a morning person, and because it really does take me a LONG time to get going in the morning, I had to build extra time into our morning schedules to give me time to wake up.  Did I enjoy getting up an hour earlier......no, I did not!!!  But that's how long it took to get me going, so that's what I did.  And I survived!!!  You will, too :)   Even though it may not feel like it right now!!

"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your need like a bandit."  (Proverbs 24:33-34  HCSB)