Something you may not know about me is that through the years, I’ve earned the title of being a good “put the baby to sleep” gal. Well, that is probably true for all babies, except my own! 😃 Of course, they were more difficult. I like to think that I earned that title from having such a calming, peaceful effect on the babies; certainly not because of being boring!
This actually started about 30 years ago before I was even a mother! Often times, I would put my niece to sleep when I was visiting her. There’s just something special about snuggling with a little one and having them fall asleep in your arms so peaceful and content.
It had been awhile since I had the privilege of putting a little one to sleep, but there is a family on my son’s baseball team who has a little one who is about six months old. There have been two times when I have offered to try to put the baby to sleep when I see him squirming around yet needing some sleep. So far I was able to do it successfully.
Family Fest 2016
This past weekend at a family reunion, I actually had the experience and honor to put the above mentioned niece’s six month old son to sleep four times!
For me, there is just something special about holding a little baby, so loving and innocent, singing softly to them, snuggling them close, and then having them fall fast asleep in your arms. They are just so peaceful, and it is always a great time to pray for them that God may guide their lives.
The one time this weekend when I was trying to get my grand nephew to sleep, I decided to get away from the crowd of 35 people that had gathered outside, so I started walking down the driveway and to the sidewalk.
It was a cool God moment for me when I saw our reflection in a car window. Looking into that car window reminded me of how much God our Father waits for us to come to Him; to wrap His arms around us and love us.
Embracing my grand nephew
He wants to embrace us, and wrap His loving, caring arms safely around us. To let us know everything is okay, and that He is there to protect us.
The other moment that was touching for me was when my grand nephew was at first fighting the sleep, squirming around but then in the next moment, just snuggled in close on my shoulder and was peacefully sleeping.
It made me think about how he had enough trust in me and was comfortable enough to just drift to sleep.
Isn’t that the trust and comfort we should have in God, Our Father?
We need to put our trust in His mighty ways and be comfortable turning to Him.
At all times, but especially during our challenging times in life, remember to reach out to God, our loving Father, who is always there, waiting to embrace us with His loving arms wrapped tightly around us. Everything will be okay with Him protecting us. Trust in His ways!
So, he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. –Luke 15:20 (NIV)
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. –Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV)
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” –Psalm 91:2 (NIV)
My first recollection of you “putting the baby to sleep” was back at the old Teen Mission. You would hold Bill’s young baby during the service and put him to sleep.
I remember that now too!
Beautiful. And I love the picture of you and the baby!
Thanks for your kind words, Amy! So nice to hear from you again! Blessings to you and your family.
One of my favorite paintings is of Jesus embracing and carrying a baby lamb. I picture myself in his gentle arms and imagine the tenderness of his touch.
Although I don’t have any babies in my life, I can snuggle my little dog to sleep and get that same peaceful feeling!
A great image to recall, Carol! And, yes, I think animals can give that same feeling! Thanks for sharing.
Love this. I love watching sleeping babies. I tend to hold on to them longer knowing that I rarely get the gift of doing so. 🙂
Thanks for reading and blessing, Marie! Yes, I do the same as the opportunities are not as often either. Blessings!
I loved this! I learned this myself this past weekend while grieving a loss of mine. When I finally turned to God and His Word, I found comfort and was more peaceful. Why do we sometimes fight His loving arms?
Thanks for reading and blessing, Cindy! I am sorry for your loss. Yes, we need to reach out for His embrace to give us comfort and peace sooner than we do. God bless!
Great blog post! Babies have the most accurate way of reminding us how our relationship with the Father ought to be like. We just have to trust Him and enjoy peace in the safety of His embrace. Thank you for writing this.
I like that Lawrence…babies do remind us how our relationship with the Father should be. Thank you so much for reading and blessing me with your encouraging words.
I’m loving your new blog layout, Christine! It’s easier to read and I see your photo clearly there. 🙂
Oh, I couldn’t relate much coz I don’t have a baby to put to sleep. I’ve got puppies! They’re quite easy to lull to sleep. Actually there’s no need. 🙂
But I can understand what you mean about trusting God. Only when I’ve surrendered my all to God can I truly sleep peacefully at night.
Thank you for commenting on my new web site, Lux. 🙂 And, I’m glad despite not having the baby connection, you can still understand about the importance of trusting the Lord like you do. Thank you for your encouraging words and always being a blessing to me! Continue to trust in Him!