My Five Year Old and the Late, Late Show

Jeremiah went to the doctor at the end of last week.  Today, he is going for an EEG to see if he is having siezures while he sleeps.  He needs to fall asleep for the test today, so the instructions were that he could only sleep four hours last night.

Did I mention he is five years old?

We were not quite sure how we were going to accomplish keeping him awake for so long.  My husband suggested I take him to the latest showing possible of Ratatouille.  The movie began at 10:15pm.  I looked around as we stood in line to buy his popcorn and was acutely aware that he was the only child in the theatre.  The other patrons stared at us curiously.  I am sure they were thinking what a terrible mother I was to have my child out so late.  It reminded me to not be so judgemental because things are rarely what they appear.

When we reached our theatre we looked up into the stadium seats to find we were all alone.  We sat down right in the middle and Jeremiah began to nibble his popcorn.  It was very quiet.

He turned to me and said, “What if the movie doesn’t start?”

“Then, I will go ask the manager about it,” I said.

“If you go ask the manager, who will take care of me?” he inquired.

“I will,” I said.  “I will always take care you.  You will go with me.”

“What about our stuff?” He asked.

“We will take that with us too.”

Then, a slow grin crossed his face and he looked all around and said, “What if somebody steals our seats?” 

I laughed out loud and he giggled at his own joke.  I reached over and rubbed his head and said softly, “You are so beautiful, you know that?”  Then, I sighed and said, “There can’t be anything wrong with you.  There just can’t.”

I managed to keep him up until 2am last night and this morning he seems to be handling the sleep deprivation much better than me.  I had the worst time preparing breakfast.  It is obivious to me my brain is not functioning fully.

I had another post prepared for today but when I went to edit it, I found my mind was too foggy and I just couldn’t do it.  So, I decided to go back through the writing I did while I was at the Abbey.  I worked exstensively on a book of scriptural mediations while I was there.  I scrolled through the documents and found Surely God is Here. I hope that reminder is as much of a comfort to you today as it is to me.

Surely God is Here

Scripture

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’” Genesis 28:15&16

Meditation

Jacob was in a dark and frightening place. His mother had just coerced him into deception and thievery of his brother’s blessing. He barely had time to mourn his father’s death before he was forced to flee Esau’s fury. So, Jacob ran. He left everyone and everything he loved to flee headlong into the unknown all alone. He was running for his life.

How dark and lonely that first night away from home must have been as he set up camp. A stone was his pillow and the regrets of a lifetime served as a blanket.

But….God was in that place. Jacob just did not know it.

Somehow, the young man slept and as he did, God sent him a dream full of promise. A stairway appeared before him between Heaven and Earth. It was a bridge to span the uncrossable; a means to reach the unreachable. In Jacob’s dream, God foretold the coming Messiah who would make a way for fallen mortal flesh to reach Heaven.

Then, the Almighty spoke. To that lonely, regretful young man he spoke words of security, hope and promise. (Genesis 28:13 – 15)

Are you in a lonely, frightening place today? God is there with you.

Even if you don’t know it.

Prayer

“Father,

My heart cries out to you in a dry and weary land. Come to me now and speak your words of comfort, security and hope. I believe you are here. Give me ears to hear your voice. ~ Amen”