One thing is for sure, it’s hard
to sleep when you are used to having someone next to you in bed for the last 7
years. But the past few nights were
harder than normal. Something just
wasn’t right, and I could not put my finger on it. So I pulled the sheet up to my chin and
stared at the ceiling as I thought about what my wife was doing half way across
the nation (probably sleeping is what I concluded).
There was another quirky thing I
was dealing with while my wife was absent.
There was a misplaced folded blanket on the ground on my side of the
bed.
“What is this blankie doing here
and why is it in my way?” I asked myself every morning and evening as I walked
around it getting in and out of my bed.
I was not going to bend over and pick it up, that was too much work for
me, I’d rather walk around it; that seemed easier to me.
So the week went on, and the
nights were sleepless as I wondered what was missing, besides my wife in the
bed.
Finally, my wife was due home and
I rushed with excitement to the airport to pick her up. We met up, got some dinner out, and came
home. I was so excited to show her the
projects I had been working on, and the fact that I had cleaned the house for
her so she would not have to worry about it, as I knew she would be exhausted
from traveling. But, I was still too
indolent to pick up the blankie on my side of the bed.
As she walked in the house, she
beamed with joy as she saw a kitchen that was clean, and a house well taken
care of. As she walked in the room, she
immediately saw the blankie on the floor, and it all began to make sense to me.
“How’d you sleep while I was gone,
Greg?” “Not that well.” I
exclaimed. “Do you want to know
why?” “Uh, take a shot at it! You
weren’t here, so I don’t know how you would know.” She responded, “Look at that blanket, nice
and folded on the floor on your side of the bed. Do you remember the last thing I said to you
on my way out of the house?” “I guess
not”, I replied. “It was, ‘Greg here is
the blanket that I cover you with every night.
I am putting it on the floor on your side of the bed. You walking around it will remind you that it
is there. If you do not use it, you
won’t be able to sleep.’” “OH….Yeah…that makes sense now.” My mind unlocked that buried memory of her saying
those things to me before she departed.
That blankie stood in my way for
an entire week. I saw it as a nuisance,
but in reality, it was a blessing. I
kept looking at it as if it was the problem, and yet it was my solution.
Funny how our perspective on
things are not always correct. My
perspective on the blanket was, “That thing is in my way.” My wife’s perspective was, “I am going to put
this blanket in Greg’s way so that he remembers to use and therefore will be
taken care of at night.”
I wonder how often I have the
wrong perspective on life. What areas of
my life am I looking at wrongly? What
are those things that God is doing in me right now that seem to cause
frustration, yet, are being used to strengthen me and build me up?
Take a moment and take an
inventory of those things in your life.
What are those things that are nuisances to you?
Later today, after you compile
your list, ask God to give you His perspective on them. You might just be walking around something
that God has placed in your life to grow you and strengthen you. Maybe it’s something that God wants to bless
you with. Regardless, ask God for his
perspective on those issues.
James 1 says to consider it all
joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, for you know that the
testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its
full affect so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Some of those nuisances in your
life, maybe the trials you are facing, are designed to mature and perfect your
faith. They may also be designed to make
you sleep better at night as you learn to trust in Jesus for all of your needs.
But the first step in this
process is changing your perspective on those things, which can be done,
through prayerfully seeking God’s will in each matter.
As for me, next time I see a
blankie in my way, I am going to pick it up and cuddle with it, assuming my
loving wife was thinking of me and knew I needed it to sleep.
