It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
~Psalm 127:2
I’ve never been a good sleeper. Perhaps I don’t require as much shut eye as others or perhaps my mind is so keyed up it is hard to shut it down, or maybe it is simply a matter of one too many cups of coffee at night. Whatever the reason, I tend to
sit up late.
And then there are those resolutions to do better. And doing better in my world means I will
rise up early.
But an equation that looks like this:
sit up late + rise up early
always =
One Sleepy Mommy
So many, many things to be done. So many, many thoughts to be thunk. So many, many hours of being the ever-vigilant mommy, the one who does it all by staying up late and rising up early and
eating the bread of
snappiness
irritibility
grouchiness
sorrow.
Again, UNLESS the LORD is building this house, all my many hours of labor are
in vain.
All my sleepless nights and sleepy days are
in vain.
God never intended that I sleepwalk through my life. He never asked me for overtime. He gave me 24 hours, and in those 24 hours, He gives me
rest.
I am His beloved.
You are His beloved.
We must stop cramming our lives so full we can no longer see that in His divine providence and mercy, he has given us time enough to
labor
and time enough to
rest.
*****
Weekends in the Word is a ministry of Raising Arrows meant to offer a time of worship and encouragement specifically for those mommies who find themselves, due to circumstances beyond their control, unable to attend worship services with other believers. However, all are welcome here each weekend to feast on His Word.
Renata says
Hi Amy
Thank you for this encouragement – what a wonderful way of sharing what the Lord has laid on your heart. I’ve been enjoying catching up on different parts of your blog the last few days – I love the “she wears skirts” posts! Thanks for all the work you put into your blog – you’re inspiring
Have a wonderful weekend & Mother’s Day!
Blessings
Renata:)
Ember says
And fun. He gives us time to have fun in, too :0)
Jennifer says
Thank you for these thoughts. This is so me…staying up late…getting up too early. There doen’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get it all done. But God made the 24 hours, so it is perfect. And He does not desire for me to be sleepy all the time. I need to slow down…and rest in Him.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Laura says
Oh,this speaks to me so much today 🙂
Staying up late to “get things done” for the day. Rising early to get started before everyone else is up…..nursing a baby several times during the day….and being so tired ALL THE TIME. Something has to give, and this is a great encouragement to step back and pay attention to the order of my days. 🙂
Laurie says
Hi! I am new to your blog and I have really enjoyed it. I needed this post. 🙂 Thanks!
Suanna says
Interesting thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Amanda says
Thanks for sharing Amy! I NEED to be reminded of this, especially right now. We are helping my in-laws put their house up for sale, and I’m expecting our third child. It makes for late nights, along with child #2 not sleeping well lately, and my own insomnia, all adding up to me being VERY tired. Hubby lets me sleep in, but I get so much more done when I get up earlier. Thanks for the reminder!
Jamerrill @ Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling says
Amen. It’s nice to read that I’m not the only one to “sit up late” or “rise up early.” I tend to do one or the other well, but not both together 🙂 Then I’m the crabby mommy too! Thanks for sharing the Word and “keeping it REAL.”
Christine says
This describes me perfectly! I really don’t like reading Christian mommy blogs that tout the wonderfulness of getting up before your kids. I know it is wonderful and they mean well, but in the season of babies and toddlers, it is not for (night-person) me–and I say that without apology. There is no single, cookie-cutter way of doing mornings.
I love nursing babies because for a time my insomnia–and non-stop thoughts–are cured. The hormones released during nursing help me drift off easily.
Happy Mother’s Day, Amy!
Karla says
My daughter made a Mother’s Day card in Sunday school yesterday, and inside were the words from Proverbs 31 (The Proverbs 31 Woman). I have to say, I felt tired just reading it!
Highlights:
v 15 “She rises also while it is still night…”
v 18 “She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.”
v27 “She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.”
How do you reconcile these two parts from the Bible? I tend to work myself to exhaustion, then resent my kids. Arrrgh!
There are many good things in this passage, but it made me feel like my hands have to be busy for the entire day, to be productive one must go to bed late and get up early… *sigh*
Amy says
First of all, Proverbs 31 is an acrostic…a poem singing the praises of motherhood and homemaking. It is an ideal to strive for. Idleness is not a good thing, but rest is. The Proverbs 31 woman’s lamp doesn’t go out at night because she has enough oil to keep it burning, not because she is up all night working. Yes, it does say she gets up while it is still dark out in order to provide for her household, but you do not get the sense she is running at a frenetic pace. Worry is not her motivator. Does that help or make sense at all?
Rebecca says
Thanks for a great post…I struggle with the same things. I love to up later, I used to use it as time to spend time with the baby in my arms. I also like the aloneness of it. I think I am more of a night owl. But I also rise early because if I don’t, the day goes very badly. I can’t get up when the kids get up, I am behind all day. I have struggled with this for quite a while. I am trying to do better. The Proverbs 31 speaks to me, not that she is up late and again up early, just that she is always prepared. Her lamp doesn’t go out because it’s always trimmed and full of oil, she doesn’t fear winter because she has prepared, etc. Rising at night also could be rising very early….I got up before daylight this morning. It sure felt like night! Thanks for this series and the skirts series and all the posts in between!