For the last 2 weeks, I’ve been waking up around 3 am every morning and unable to fall back asleep for the rest of the day. I am usually being woken up by a bad dream or just simply waking up because of pure worry and anxiousness. Restless and exhausted are the two words that I have been using to describe myself. I haven’t felt this way until I was putting an infant on a bedtime routine.
Can you relate? Have you ever been restless like this before?
I did what most women do in times of trouble and called my mom. I talked to my mother about my lack of sleep lately and she gave me the strangest advice. My mother told me to pray when I wake up in the middle of the night. I was so confused about this direction. I was expecting her to tell me to try melatonin or maybe I need a new mattress but no… she told me to pray.
I pray before I go to bed, I pray before I eat but why would her advice be to pray when I am restless and can’t sleep? This really confused me.
I felt a little afraid when she told me this. Did she know something that I didn’t know?
Am I getting sick? All of those negative anxious thoughts began to run through my mind because I was so nervous about why prayer was the answer.
The following night, like clockwork, I woke up around 3 am and was more exhausted than ever. I immediately got my journal and began to pray and meditate. I talked to God about my day, what happened, what had me worried, and my hopes for a better day tomorrow. This was the best conversation that I had with God in a while because it wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t a standard prayer that I just go through to get to the next phase of my day like dinner or waking up. It was an intimate conversation that eased my mind. After about 20-30 minutes of praying, I immediately fell back to sleep which never happened before.
The next morning when I woke up, I called my mother to tell her what happened and she calmly said, “When you are restless and can’t sleep, that means God wants to talk to you. He knows you are so busy during the day working, being a mom, and getting things done so the only time He can get some good one-on-one time with you is in the middle of the night when the world is quiet. He just wanted your time and to let you know that you are still protected and His.”
That statement from my mom meant the world to me and showed the true power and love of God. In all of His power and greatness, I just had to realize that I needed more time with him. I needed to connect with him more so that I can reduce my worries and fears that continued to wake me up and make me restless.
So, I say to you, when you are restless, don’t fret. Use that time to get close with Our Father. Use that time to write and pray about all that is in your mind and all of the things that you rarely have time to sit and meditate on. God is there for you and always has been. He just needed some time to with you and for you to focus on your relationship with Him for a moment. I hope you find relief and inspiration in this post to see the positive in those restless nights and use that time to pray and build a better relationship with God.
Read more of Georgina’s contributions to allmomdoes here.
