Wakey! Wakey!

Ah, sleep! it is the wonder drug for our bodies. Rich deep sleep helps our bodies recover, gain strength, and fine tunes our internal systems. Interrupted sleep can induce higher blood pressure, create tired bodies and foggy minds. When sleep doesn't come easy, we suffer. Stress in our life can kick our brains into overdrive and we toss and turn. The good news for us is that better sleep patterns are possible. Take this article in the morning paper.

This is a good read and offers solid suggestions to help us regain better sleep patterns. It offers keen insights on some of the things that derail our rest. What is particularly amusing about this article is its timing. This is "Sleep Awareness Week" and we know that to be a good thing. However, at the end of this week, we will be 'springing forward' to set our clocks ahead one hour. That means we lose an hour of sleep. In reality, we lose nothing, but try explaining that to your body.

Next Sunday morning will arrive and many will be an hour late for church, work, or their tee time. Others will awake and groan. The internal systems will still be purring along on the old schedule and then BOOM! something changed.

Time is an interesting concept. God's time is different than ours. In God's time continuum, everything has its own place. Nothing occurs out of place in God's time. The order and care that God provides is uncanny. It may seem out of place to us but not to God. We may question why God allows terrible things to occur without any godly intervention.

We utter, "Why did my aunt die so young?" "How can it be that my job just moved to another country?" "Will I survive this cancer diagnosis?" "What was the purpose of the tornado fatalities?" Yet, God continues to work out a plan known only to the Divine mind and sometimes revealed to us. We stand in awe and sheer helplessness. The restorative piece of this helplessness is trust. Can we trust God to make all things right? King Solomon offered the comparisons of living in an unstable world. Check out his writings below.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a

time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down

and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to

scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a

time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be

silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-9, NIV)

Actions and inactions, beginnings and endings, were evident to Solomon and his understanding of God's timing was summed up here....

"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone

may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God

does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men

will revere him." (Ecclesiastes 3:12-14, NIV)

The final result of living in an uncertain (fallen) world is found in our faith in God. Will we submit to God's authority and sovereignty? Will our trust outpace our fears and doubt? Remember that the Good Shepherd makes us to lie down in green pastures and restores our souls. Trust God today.

PS: Oh, and don't forget to spring ahead Saturday night!