Realizations

I think there are few in things in life as satisfying as realizing that something that happened years ago that you couldn't understand, helped prepare you for something later on that you would face.

For instance, when I was living with my parents between 17-21 (ish), I would randomly have nights where I wouldn't be able to sleep. I just would not be tired in body or mind. I would lie in bed for an hour or two waiting to get tired, but it just wasn't happening. So then I'd get up. At two or three in the morning.

Often what I did during this time was clean my room a bit. I would have some energy to burn off - I needed to DO something. So I'd clean and organize and straighten things up.

Now, for someone who's rather aware of the statuses of the rest of the people in the house, this was not a terribly easy thing to do. Straightening requires moving things about. Dusting (which is usually what got done in the wee hours of the morning) requires, at least, picking things up off a shelf and then putting them back down. When the house is silent, when you share a 100 year old wall with your light-sleeping parents, you tend to want to be very quiet when doing anything.

I never knew why I couldn't sleep those nights. I would wonder about it; I would wonder if there was something specific that I needed to be praying about and would spend some time in prayer. And while I fully believe there was an immediate reason for it, it's so cool realizing there was a much longer-term reason as well.

I would have never guessed it was so I would learn what I can and can't clean and do it quietly. But the fact of the matter is that it's coming in handy when my husband works nights and needs to sleep, and we're having company over later in the afternoon. ;)

And that was a fun and reassuring realization that I had this morning. Even the itty bitty details of our lives, that we may never understand, have a purpose - and being God's children, that purpose is for our good and for His glory. :)