Monday Night

Good morning everyone! (I just felt like saying good morning, even though it's afternoon for you.) 
I hope your Monday night goes as well as mine... If you knew the story of my last night, you might take my previous statement several ways... I will explain both my night and my statement.


  Yesterday was a long day for me. I had a headache most of the day and was tired. By the time I went to bed I was a little upset. I was almost asleep when I heard Coen start crying at 11:00 pm. (He has gotten into two different things with wheat in them this week, so he's not feeling well.) After that I couldn't get comfortable on my futon for some reason and tossed and turned until after midnight. Then my sleep was very light and I kept waking up every now and then until around 2:00. After that I was finally able to sleep. Well after consulting with my noise-ometer I have come to the conclusion that Coen must have gotten up around 5:30. I think that I unconsciously register noise in my sleep and when I've heard so much, it's like an alarm clock and I wake up. Well, this morning my noise clock went off at 6:15 rather than 7:15 like usual. (That's why I figured that Coen had been up for a while.) Because it was noisy at 6:15 too. Well, you can imagine the rest of my morning. Between showers and coffee to wake me up, it still took a while! :) 


So after reading that, how would you take my hope that you have a night as good as mine?


I'll explain what I meant... After a while of feeling sorry for myself, I realized how silly I was being. I had a much better night than lots of people around the world had last night! I had a roof over my head, I had an air conditioner to keep me cool, I had a bed and a pillow and a blanket, I didn't lose a loved one, I have another day ahead of me, I have a family back home who loves and cares for me, I live with a family who takes care of me and includes me, my headache from yesterday is gone, and I was able to get at the very least 5 hours of really good sleep (plus some). I am alive, I am loved, I am cared for, I am forgiven! 


How often do we get so caught up in self pity that we don't even have the time to look around and see what we really do have? What if I hadn't realized my mistake this time? How would it have affected the rest of my day? How often have I not realized that I'm sitting in a pool of selfishness? I encourage you the rest of your night and tomorrow morning to take the words of the old hymn to heart: "Count your many blessings see what God has done." If you've had a long day (as I know many of you have) don't let it get you down. One of my all time favorite quotes comes from Corrie Ten Boom. This wise lady once said: "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest." 
Rest is what I thought I needed last night. But I found out that I needed to look to God first, and not rely on myself to get rest. 


So when I say that I hope your Monday night is as good as mine was, I don't wish that you have a 'bad' night so that you can then sympathize with me. I don't wish that you get woken up early by too much noise (or anything, really :) ). And I'm not being sarcastic! :) I truly hope that you will wake up in the morning knowing that there is a Father in Heaven that loves you, and has given you another night and the start of another day to be with your family and friends. Don't get carried away by a flood of selfishness like I did. Look to God and get rest. Let Him be your rest!


Good night!


All my love,
Hannah