Last night at 12:30, Ella Grace woke up screaming. I went to see what was wrong and she said, "Pray Mommy." I knew she was scared from a bad dream. She was actually shaking and couldn't stop. She asked me to pray, so I prayed. Once I was done, she said, "Pray again." So I did. Then, I realized it was just a delay to keep me in there. She began to come up with more ideas to keep me in there: sit with her, rub her leg, read her a story...I told her no, that Mommy has to go back to sleep with Daddy and she is a big girl and has her own big girl bed and that God promises to keep her safe. She wouldn't go back to sleep and still continued to shake her little legs. So I turned on the light and we sat up for a minute and I held her until she stopped shaking. When she was calm, she went back up to her pillow and I left.
I prayed in the middle of this for wisdom. I kept wondering if I was starting a bad habit by going in there and if this would be a sign of what our nights will be like. But for me and this child, I had a peace that I was to be her comforter-- just as God is to us. I reminded her that God is our Shepherd and He helps us when we are afraid. I re-assured her that we can trust in Him when we are afraid.
Today I have picked out two verses we will talk about.
Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God Whose Word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
Hebrews 13:6 So we say with confidence,the Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
I want to tell her it's ok to be afraid but the key is to trust God and pray to Him when she is. Then we will talk about what we expect her to do once we have prayed with her- get in bed and go back to sleep. Any words of wisdom if our plan backfires?
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