INSOMNIA

Insomnia:  Chronic inability to fall asleep or remain asleep for an adequate length of time

I’ve heard folks speak of how annoying insomnia is.  As for me, I’ve never experienced that very often.  I’m the one who can go to sleep and sleep very well, even sitting straight up in a loud room.  That is, if I’m tired enough.  And, most days, I’m tired enough.  Especially as I age.

Today it’s 4:30 a.m. and I’ve been awake for over an hour and a half.  It could be because my stomach is off.  That could be because I drank a Diet Coke an hour before I went to bed.  I know better than that.  It’s just that I have a limit of three Diet Cokes a week and have only had one so far this week and just felt like I wanted my second last night.  An hour before bedtime.  Not so smart.  Plus, I have a sniffly nose.  Not the full blown cold that The Husband has had ALL week and still has but just enough sniffly nose to keep me awake.  And did I say that The Husband has gone fishing?  Already.  Before 4:30 a.m.  Uh, huh, The Husband LOVES to fish. 

I lay in bed wide awake and got to thinking.   I guess that’s what one does when they have insomnia.  I have a wood cutout of a sheep I’ve had for many years that says “Don’t count sheep, talk to the shepherd.”  Well, having little insomnia, I haven’t done that often but got to doing that this morning and finally decided to just get up and write about the conversation.  So here’s my thoughts in my insomnia state.

The list for things I am thankful for is too long to write each thing.  So here’s a few:

I’m thankful most of all for my salvation and relationship with the Lord.  Without that, nothing else would make sense.

I’m thankful for The Husband and all he brings to my life and our home and the love he has for the Lord, our family, and me.  He is a good man even with the snuff dipping and early rising.

I’m thankful for The Girl.  What a joy she has brought to my life and our home!  We all know I could write so much here but I’ll just say The Husband and I have been blessed beyond measure to have her call us Daddy and Mama.

I’m thankful for The Son-In-Law.  Boy, doesn’t that sound odd? It’s my first Thanksgiving as a Mother-In-Law and I have The Son-In-Law to thank for that.  We are blessed as he is a fine young man who made the choice to love The Girl and join our family.  I couldn’t have picked a better one if I had hand picked him myself.

I am thankful for parents who love me and I am thankful that I never doubted that love.  My parents are those two that everyone loves and so do I.

I am thankful for a sister who allowed me to be a good big sister.  She is very dear to me as is her husband and kids.

I am thankful for an extended family of in-laws that I love.  Many good memories have been made with them.

I am thankful for a place to worship and the freedom I have to worship. 

I am thankful for a church family who supports and loves freely.

I am thankful for friends, both old and new.  Isn’t there a saying that says “one is silver, the other gold”?    Life has a path that brings folks into it that become very precious to me.  

I am thankful for laughter and for tears.  I need them both to keep things in perspective.

I am thankful for my shoes that I can wear all day long without having my feet and legs hurt.   I am especially glad of this as they cost more than any shoes I have ever worn and I could not take them back after I had worn them.  Whew!  Luckily, I am not vain about having to wear good looking shoes.  My Catholic friend calls them “nun” shoes.  I call them “comfortable”.   I wear them every day.  Did I say I can wear them all day long without having painful feet and legs?  Yes!

I am thankful for that pink medicine I took for my stomach earlier and for the wonderful doctor who prescribed it.  She has been my wonderful doctor for about 25 years now and I’m thankful I found her that day long ago after I had fallen through the attic....a great story to tell for her and for me!  It’s the little things…..

I am thankful for music, children, mercy, corn flakes, afternoon naps, an easy to fix hair do, a beautiful day, grace, a love of photography, grits, sweet memories, and so much more.   The list is endless.  Endless. 

One of my favorite songs is one that has been sang by the Children’s Choir at church and says much to me.  It goes like this:

“Dear Lord, we vow to thank you for all the good you give

For birds and trees for skies and seas, the world in which we live.

Dear Lord, we vow to thank you for family and friends

For food and for your faithfulness, your love which never ends.”

The "love which never ends" is one of our biggest blessings.  God is so good and thankfully, He and only He holds our future in His hands.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18