“O God, who hast drawn over weary day the restful veil of night, enfold us in heavenly peace. Lift from our hands our tasks, and all through the night bear in Thy bosom the full weight of our burdens and sorrows, that in untroubled slumber we may press our weakness close to Thy strength, and win new power for the morrow’s duty from Thee who givest Thy beloved sleep: through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen” (An Unknown Saint’s Evening Prayer).

Once you’ve experienced a night of insomnia, you will never take for granted a good night’s sleep ever again. Those who have trouble sleeping are really good at backwards math, i. e. if I fall asleep at 1:30 am, I can still get 5 1/2 hours of sleep and be mostly awake tomorrow.

But even sleep is a gift from God. Sometimes, I think God keeps us awake to remind us that we’re not in control of even small things like telling our bodies to rest. God also sometimes will keep us awake so that we will finally be free of noise and distractions and ready to listen. Or it could be a kind of thorn in the flesh like what Paul possibly dealt with.

All I know is that sleep is a good gift. No one can or should go for long periods without rest. No one is able. I know there are stories of people who can go for weeks and months with little or no sleep, but for most of us, we need our rest. Something like a good eight hours’ worth.

So thank you, God, for the sleep that I often take for granted until those nights when I can’t sleep. And also thanks for naps. Those were a good idea of Yours.