JustDad.Blog

Dedicated to my Mom

Is that Asher? It must be Asher… I think I heard knocking. It must be Asher. Ok! Better check what he needs.

I threw on my pants and went to the door. No Asher. Then I heard Lizzie crying and saw my wife walking into the room to get her.

There goes Jehovah Sneaky again. You see Jordan and I had a deal that she would get Lizzie the next time she woke up, but I got up anyway because I thought it was Asher. I went to help, but I heard Lizzie stop crying. I got back into the room right before my wife got back. Turns out my wife had something she needed to tell me about and so I got an opportunity to pray with her before we tried to go back to sleep.

So now my brain is awake… and I’m thinking.

Jesus and I came up with the title of this post and some ideas in the wee hours of the morning before I was able to go back to sleep.

Before drifting off I started remembering some of my less…. Tactful decisions. Though I know I am forgiven and have forgiven myself: these memories don’t exactly evoke the strongest positive emotion.

Wait, why am I thinking about this?

I didn’t understand how these thoughts could possibly have come to mind until I remembered.

One time I snuck out in the middle of the night. I was home from college over the summer. It wasn’t the only time. But the first time I snuck out… I get a call on my phone at 2am in the morning. It was my mom.

My Mom was my warden of the night watch… Just as I believe God woke me up this morning so I could love my wife and daughter… God woke my Mom up so she could love me.

“Honey, where are you?!” My mom had sensed my leaving…found my bed empty and called me. “ Jonathan, whatever your doing you need to come home”

I wish I had listened. While God has redeemed me from this season, I wish I had listened.

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Mom (Jan Merrill) Thank you for always praying for me and for being His instrument of mercy and grace in my life. You have been my Warden of NightWatch since I was a small baby and I would literally stop breathing in the middle of the night. Thank you!

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Most of you are probably familiar enough with a watch of the night. You’ve seen enough movies where this character or another says: I’ll take first watch.

Parents are a little bit different…. We actually do get to sleep, but if something happens in your household, you are always responsible. I am very tired this morning as a result.

It is an amazing privilege….I love my children and there are good times too. As we were going back to sleep we hear another knock at the door. Our almost 5 year old is at the door and hands me an old baby monitor camera.

“Dad! Look what I found” little girl beaming smiles. Daddy’s heart melts.

“ I love you! Go back to bed.” I really wish I had given her a hug.

Turns out Jordan had been looking for that camera. My daughter knew this, somehow found it at 4 am… and brought it to us. I think this was Jesus loving my wife?

Certainly I felt loved. I love that little girl.

So yes there are perks to being a sleep walking parent.

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Application: Well if you still need application, cause I usually do as a vivacious thinker…. Here you go.

God is a Parent too…. He is our Warden of the Night Watch. I understand that bad things still happen… but He is always on call. He here’s the cries of his people at any time Day or Night.

Sometimes he draws near to us with a dream. When he does this for me I often find myself hearing the echoes of eternity… this is often filled with joy, a reminder of His goodness, and at times a glimpse of the future. Our Father is the timeless one… sometimes he lets His thoughts about some future or past event be known.

In my case this morning…when he drew near… he brought up my past… not to harm, but to heal. He reminds me that He has always been with me, every step of the way, even when I was running from Him.

So may you put your Trust in Him… Original Warden of the Night Watch. He is good and what He does good.

He loves you! And so do I!