Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.
~William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Tomorrow at 1:45 pm my sweet daughter, Brooke, will be undergoing surgery for SEVERE OBSTRUCTED SLEEP APNEA. Out go the tonsils, adnoids, and we’ll see what the nasal laparoscopy reveals. She hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in a very, very long time. I was with her during her sleep study. I knew she had been struggling, but seeing the reality of her supposed “good night sleep” was startling. The sleep study technician commented the next morning, “I don’t know how she gets through the day. I can’t say anymore, but ‘Wow!'” If Shakespeare’s words are true. . . that “sleep is the chief nourisher of life’s feast”. . . then Brooke is by all means deprived!
In order to prepare my heart for this life-altering surgery for my daughter, I am clinging to Mark 4:29,
“He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’
Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”
Completely calm. Don’t we all want to operate in a state of calm? Webster tells us that to be calm is “to be undisturbed; still; to be at rest.” How is this possible? I think the secret lies in Mark 4:29. As we unfold this scripture, we see the wind as the focus of the disciples’ unrest. The wind causing the waves to beat upon the boat. All the disciples could see was chaos.
As Jesus rises, he takes authority. He rebukes (silences) the wind. So, I ask myself, “What wind is stirring up anxiety in my life?” Right now, it is my daughter’s surgery. Winds of worry, anxious thoughts, and what if’s are blowing through my mind. In order to silence these overwhelming waves, I must do as Jesus did and take authority. Second Corinthians 10:5 tells us, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
As the winds of our lives create waves of emotional unrest and instability, we must look to the Living Word of God. In doing so, the winds will die down and we will experience complete calm. Speak to the wind. Tell it to be quiet. Tell it to be still. Tell it to obey the Word of God.
Then, experience God’s complete calm. Breathe deeply. I just did. And, boy did it feel good. I pray you sleep well tonight!