Sleep Peace

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

Whenever I see a heart I think of Sweet Sherry, because she loves hearts so much she has one in every room in her home. Recently she showed me a surprise outside in her rock garden. A tree had been cut down and the stump was shaped like a heart. She has plans to put a marker in her garden that says, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart” (Matthew 22:37). One Christmas she gave me a two-inch silver heart bookmark that never falls out of my bedside book and has been a reminder of God’s peace countless times during the night.

When I wake up in the middle of the night and want to quickly fall back asleep, I turn on my teeny book light in an attempt not to disturb Mark and begin reading where I left off. Usually within a page or two, my eyes grow tired and I fall back to sleep.

One night, I was especially troubled by certain trials and sorrows that were swirling in my head. I tried to read to take my mind off everything, but it wasn’t helping. Then, in the darkness, I noticed the shadow of that little silver heart from my bookmark on the ceiling above our bed.

The sight was so precious I had to resist waking up Mark to say, “Look! Look!” If I could have jumped out of bed to physically hug God, I would have! If God can put a heart on the ceiling in the middle of a troubled night just for me, He can do immeasurably more than all you and I could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20). We really can feel His peace in the midst of struggles and dark times, knowing His heart for His children is tender and kind.

Let’s take heart! We will have trouble in this world, but Jesus has overcome the problems we face.