“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” — 1 Chronicles 16:34
As I put Jude to bed for the 20th time I found myself more and more frustrated...
Have you been there?
Have you really needed to get something accomplished and every time you think you have an opportunity to get something done you’re interrupted? This was my night (Who am I kidding it was my whole day...)!
If you have kids (or have been around anyone who does) you know that the minute they finally drift off to sleep for the night it’s go time! I get more accomplished from 8:30-10:30pm than I probably do most of the time during the day. I normally find myself folding the laundry that kept getting put off throughout the day, finishing up the dishes, tidying up the house and prepare for the next morning. With Christmas quickly approaching I’m also using this time to wrap gifts.
I finish all these chores, get myself ready for bed, turn on a show to clear my mind and eventually drift off to sleep.
Last night, however, didn’t go quite as I am used to. Jude hardly took a nap all day. He was rambunctious, wound up, and ready to play and drove me crazy all day!
I thought for sure he’d crash soon after we tucked him in and I’d be able to finish laundry, wrap some gifts and pack our bags to go to Joshua’s mom’s home. Jude had different plans.
He sat sitting straight up in his bed for about 30 minutes staring at Kate, causing her to want to play and talk rather than sleep.
After getting out of bed a few times, we kept Jude in our room long enough for Kate to finally fall asleep. We sent him back to bed over and over and over again. He would return each time with a different reason for getting up
“I need to hold you”
“I’m not sleepy”
“I don’t want to go night night”
“I need to pee pee”
“I want to watch something”
“I want to lay in your bed”
“I want to go see Lala”
It continued on and on and on until my patience was running super thin. It had been a long day, I needed to get things finished, I wanted to go to sleep myself, and Jude wasn’t having it.
He finally comes in our room and says
“I want you to hold me mama”...
Well that short simple phrase just immediately softened my heart. See, Jude is not particularly a snuggly toddler. He will give a hug when asked for one, but when he’s tired he typically doesn’t want anyone loving on him... so I jumped at the opportunity.
I went into his room and sat in the floor, leaning against his toddler bed, and held him in my lap. He laid his head on my shoulder and buried his arms under his torso. I gently began to rock back and forth and rubbed his back until he eventually relaxed his body and I could tell he was giving in to his body’s need for sleep.
As he was dozing off I heard him whispering something under his breath. I asked what he was saying and I was promptly told to “sssshhhhhhh”. I was a little taken aback. Then he said, “shhhhh mama I’m praying.”
I listened more closely as he started his prayer over. It went a little something like this
“Dear Jesus, thank you for this great day. Thank you for mama. Thank you for Daddio and thank you for babies (this is what he calls Kate). Thank you for Lala and Pop and for Lala and Pop’s house. Love you Jesus Amen.”
I didn’t say a word because I was so proud that without prompting he wanted to pray and thank Jesus for so many things.
I don’t know if you’re like me but I often rush through the thanksgiving portion of my prayers. I’m prone to spend more time praying for specific needs/requests, for loved ones in need, for myself, etc and I tend to leave out much thanksgiving.
I’ve found this even more difficult to do during this past year. I’ve discovered in my prayers that I’m praying for an end to COVID-19, for our needs concerning our visas, for our family as we are still in this season of transition, for loved ones who are sick or in need, etc.
I realized tonight that I haven’t found myself specifically presenting all of the things I’m thankful for to God. Even in this season of covid-19, family transitions, job changes, and more, we have SOOOO much to be thankful for. Jude recognized that. I’m thankful that The Lord is using my two and a half year old to teach me a lesson on thankfulness.
Some of the ways I’m looking to focus on being more thankful in 2021 is by diligently writing in my gratitude journal, daily expressing my gratitude to God, and looking for the positive things in my life rather than simply focusing on my needs and concerns.
What are you thankful for today? Have you expressed thanks to God today?
Join me in a season of thankfulness! There’s always something to be thankful for. If a 2 year old can find things to be thankful for so can I!