From early childhood my mother taught us to pray the childhood night-time prayer “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take” followed by asking for a blessing on each of our family members and thanking the Lord for all we had.

Occasionally I would think about the words “If I should die before I wake”, but usually fell asleep quickly and didn’t worry about it too much. When I was about seven however, our elderly neighbor Charlie passed away and we were told “he died in his sleep”. NOW there was cause to worry as obviously it could and did happen.

For many years following Charlie’s death, I was afraid to go to sleep at night for fear I wouldn’t wake up.  I don’t know why I didn’t share this concern with my mom, but I didn’t want anyone to think I was a “scaredy cat” so I needlessly kept this burden to myself.  I spent many sleepless hours (which in actuality were probably minutes) trying to stay awake to avoid my untimely demise, but of course it didn’t happen.  Finally, I could not take the pressure anymore and I confided in my mom. She quickly explained that Charlie was old and these kinds of things usually happened to older people. My mother assured me I had nothing to fear and not to worry.

A weight was lifted off my young shoulders and my “sleepless nights” were over!  Why had I not confided in my mom before and saved a lot of worry?  I am reminded of the scripture reading from Joshua 1:9 which tells us “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord God is with you wherever you go”.  Though my mother, God’s calming promise was given to me at a young age and has stayed with me all these years later.

Whether we are experiencing the significant anxieties of adult life or the small worries of a young child, may we all remember these words of comfort from Joshua and strive to live a more peaceful existence in the knowledge God loves us unconditionally.

Patty