In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8

Young, naïve, and filled with energy, sleeping until noon on the weekend was the norm. Play hard all day – Sleep sound all night. Play hard all week – Sleep in on the weekend. No problem. This pattern lasted until I started adulting. 

Becoming a young adult, a parent, and a professional in my field changed all that. I became restless … sleepless. Unable to sleep all night because of things I had on my mind. I found myself waking up with worry. Will we have enough money to pay the bills? Are the kids ok? Is someone crying? Did I forget to do something important for work? Is that person upset with me? These are just some of the thoughts that interrupted my sleep. 

If I wasn’t worrying about one of those things, I had numerous ideas running through my mind. Things I needed to remember or wanted to do. Pay for school aftercare … Remind students of … Ask teachers about … Share this thought with … Remember this idea to enhance a lesson … Pursue this creative thought … You get the idea. It was nonstop. My brain never turned off.

Advancing in my career, I became even more sleepless with increased responsibility for the care, education, and safety of others. Is bad weather moving in before dawn? Should I cancel or delay school? Must remember to meet with (student, teacher, parent) to address behavior or mediate conflict. How can I better motivate others? Board member wants to meet first thing in the morning – what can that be about? How can we increase student success? Teacher satisfaction? Public perception? Why are those social media posts so hurtful? Countless, endless contemplations over time hijacking my mind, robbing me of sleep … making me to be sleepless.

I never knew just how sleep deprived I lived my life until I retired from the career to which I devoted so many years and so much time. No more wonderings, what ifs, or weight of the world worries to make me sleepless. The school dreams stopped. The kids are married and happy. Finances are in order. My husband and I have more time to enjoy each other as well as travel and pursue hobbies. I find myself in a very sweet time of life.

I suppose you expect me to say I now sleep like a baby – not so. Now, I wake up in the middle of the night and find I have nothing (or very little) running through my mind. I stare at the ceiling, count sheep, try to come up with something that is on my mind but there is no reason for this sleeplessness. Maybe I just sleep less. Just age, I guess. 

I am sure you are familiar with the child’s prayer Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. My parents taught it to me, and we taught it our children too. The version I recite is:

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. 

God bless … (insert specific names here).

Amen

Thinking of this prayer that ushered me into numerous safe, restful nights of sleep in my youth, I decided to create an adult version specifically for the sleepless times I have now. A prayer to occupy my mind until I am lulled and able to once again slumber. My new prayer is:

Now I lay awake at night,

I pray the Lord will hold me tight.

If I cannot fall back asleep,

I pray the Lord my thoughts to keep.

God bless …

I continue by adding my specific prayers of praise, protection, power, and promise for individual family members and friends. This helps me navigate my thoughts toward Heaven and my body successfully back to sleep.

Finding yourself sleepless?

Try this practice of prayer when you’re lying there wide awake desperate for a few more hours of shut eye. I wish I had thought of it sooner instead of wasting precious time and rest on the worry and weight of this world.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:24