The Wisdom Hidden in Sleep

There's a cliche, you've heard it before, that you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

And how true that is with sleep.

You don't truly value sleep for the gift that it is until it's gone.

And the reason for its absence are varied.

It could be a crying infant who's woken you up so many times you've lost count.

Could be a nagging worry of some kind, an anxious thought, or a physical ailment, or perhaps you've been through some kind of trauma and your dreams are filled with terrifying themes.

Or maybe it's just insomnia.

Whatever it is, whatever is the reason you're losing sleep, here's the truth.

The more you lose it, the more you realize how much you need it and long for it and realize what an amazing gift sleep really is.

Our secular world around us already knows this.

It already values sleep.

But here's one thing it cannot do.

The world at large cannot make the vital, awe and worship-inspiring connection to the wisdom of God who gave us this gift or to the Savior in which we find and experience rest at its fullest.

That is when the gift becomes most precious.

I'm more aware than ever that every day I live is a total gift.

It's not a guarantee that we get to experience that new morning mercy.

And that's the thing about mercy, right? It's not within our control.

That's the thing about grace.

We can't demand grace on our terms.

It's God's to give or not to give.

And all we can do with gifts is receive them with gratitude.

And that is what waking up in the morning has become for me, an opportunity to worship God by being grateful for this undeserved gift.