Saturday, September 1, 2012

The Way She Sleeps

It was only a couple of weeks ago that Moriah first rolled over from back to tummy...
 ...but since then, she's become so adept at it that she always (well, OK, maybe not always, but really-very-close-to-always) sleeps on her tummy now.  I put her on her back in her crib, but she immediately (well, OK, maybe not immediately, but really-very-close-to-immediately) rolls over onto her tummy.
 It makes me a little nervous.
I KNOW babies have slept on their tummies for centuries without any trouble, but I'm so used to the SIDS prevention slogan of "Back to Sleep" that I get a little unsettled when I see her that way.  Will she be able to breathe?
 Wanting to be obedient to Philippians 4:6, I turn from anxiety and present my request to God.  "Be her breath," I pray.  "Oh God, please be her breath as she sleeps!"  The worry fades away, the prayers continue, and His marvelous peace comes flooding in.
When I see her open her eyes and begin to awake, thanksgiving pours from my heart.  "Thank You, God, for keeping her through one more night, through one more nap.  Thank You for being her breath!"

How would my life be different if I became this aware of God's presence in everything, this reliant on His care in all circumstances, this determined to stop worry in its tracks by choosing to trust, and this quick to express gratitude for all He does for me?  The next time I find myself whispering, "Be her breath, Father," maybe I should add to that, "You ARE my breath, Lord.  Each time I inhale and exhale, I only do it because You allow me to and You give me the strength.  I am so thankful..."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Davene,
When we had our children as babies, it was said to put the baby on the stomach so that if they vomited they would not choke on it. That is what we did for all of our children. So you see, God was giving all of our children breath. It is a natural instinct to get in the position to be able to breathe. One of the positions that seems to be rather suffocating is the position that a baby has when they are nursing at the breast, but still they breathe very well.
Dad

Miriam said...

What depth to a simple prayer!

A random side-bit, I like that crib sheet. :) When we were getting things before Susannah was born, I made sure to get neutral things in case she was a boy. Now that we have two girls sometimes I wish I had more girly things (like sheets)! But, we have LOTS of girly things that aren't sheets, so we're still good. :)

Davene Grace said...

Miriam - it's funny that you noticed the sheet. :) Before Moriah, we only had neutral-colored sheets, too: whites and creams, to match our nursery decorations. But my friend Lisa who gave me so many clothes for Moriah also gave me that crib sheet...so even though it doesn't particularly match Moriah's room at all, I still love using it!!! :)

Margie said...

I just love these pictures. It's hard for me to believe she's already rolling over. But I'm also still in awe about how big Shav is. I've said this before; but he is still "the baby" in my mind, in spite of my watching him grow up! But ah! the sweetness of watching a baby sleep - AND awaken.