Singing with Pete at 4:00 in the morning

16On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:"Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. 17The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over
you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:16-17

For the last four or five nights, my two and a half year old son Pete has been waking up crying around 3:30 in the morning. The first few times we just let him sleep in our bed with us for the rest of the night, which was probably a bad idea. Now it has almost become habitual, so we decided yesterday to take a "tough" stance on our son's mid-night melodrama.

As expected, Pete began crying uncontrollably at 3:31 last night. He strolled into our room and I firmly told him to return to his bed. He objected at first, but then retreated to his room as ordered (side note: spanking works… Pete understands that we expect him to obey the first time we ask him to do something, even at 3:31 am). He went back to his bed but just kept crying. After 10 minutes or so I went in there to try and figure out what was going on. He calmed down while I was in there, but when I got up to leave he freaked out again. I told him to stay in his bed and to stop crying, expecting that he might wear himself out and find himself asleep once he realized that we weren't coming to get him no matter how much he screamed.

My expectations were not realized. After another half-hour of crying I went in there again. By now it's closer to 4:30 am, a time that very few people should be awake. In a moment that might lead to a nomination for "Dad of the Week," I remembered something this child's mother had said days before. My lovely wife, Amanda, had just read somewhere that it is fairly common for children Pete's age to start having nightmares or developing a case of nyctophobia.

Now, as his father I realized that there was nothing for him to be scared of. The doors were all locked. There were batteries in the smoke alarms. There were no thunderstorms in the forecast. From my vantage point, there was not a single reason he should have to be scared. But, if you don't have kids yet, you may find out someday that toddlers are not always rational creatures. If you have had a toddler in your midst, you know exactly what I mean and may have stories of your own to support this assertion.

So, there we were, sitting on Pete's bed at 4:35 am. I had come to the conclusion that he was scared even though there was nothing to be scared of. I had a "Y chromosome" moment as I began to tell him he shouldn't be scared because, well, logically he shouldn't be scared. If you think this worked, see the previous paragraph. But, by the grace of God, I quickly came to my senses and started acting more like a dad and less like a mechanic.

I scooped Pete into my arms and held him tight to my chest. Pete's not tall to begin with, but he curled himself up so tight against me that he could have probably fit himself into a backpack. I told him that I loved him and that it was O.K. because Daddy was here. After a minute or two I convinced him that he could lay his head down on his Thomas the Tank Engine pillow and that I wouldn't leave. He complied and I began to rub his back. We talked for a moment about what we had done that day, and how God had been good to us. We talked about the hotdogs God gave him for lunch. We talked about how God had protected him when he fell off the slide in the back yard. We talked about how God had been good to us in more ways than we could remember.

Next I did something I've seen Amanda do many times in the past. I sang to him. We started with the classics, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and The ABC's. Then I put together my rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, followed by There Is No Place Like Nebraska. We moved on to Jesus Loves Me and God Is So Good, and by that point Pete was starting to breath rather deeply. I finished the night's performance with Rock of Ages and Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Pete was sound asleep, and as I crept back into bed the clock radio informed me that it was now 4:56 am.

?

As I fell back to sleep myself I couldn't shake the feeling that God had wanted to teach me something through this experience. "Do I ever act like Pete," I wondered. Do I ever worry or become scared even when my Father knows that I have nothing to worry about? The last thing I remember thinking was that I thought there was a verse somewhere about God singing over his children.

This morning, through the wonders of Google and Biblegateway.com, I was able to find the passage at the top of this post. Zephaniah is a book of judgement and of restoration, and in the seventeenth verse of the third chapter, God tells his children that he is in their midst and is able to save. He will sing over his redeemed children, quieting them by his love.

As you may know from a previous post, I have been unemployed for over a month now. God has been abundantly gracious to us through this trial. We have not yet missed a meal and we still have a home to live in. In fact, through a number of events which I may describe in a future post, we actually have more money in our checking account today than we did on the last day I worked. Even still, there have been times when it has been tough. As my wife will tell you, I can usually fall alseep within 17 seconds of my head hitting the pillow. However, I would be lying if I said I haven't had a couple of nights that worries and fears have kept me awake a little longer than usual. I can't help but wonder if God is trying to give me a glimpse into his perspective as my father by sending my child into my room at 3:30 each morning.

What do I have to be worried about? What should I be afraid of? The sovereign God of the universe has adopted me, has given me his last name. He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me. There is a limit to the protection and provision Pete's dad can give him, but my Father in heaven is infinite in his power, He is the very source of wisdom, and He is gracious more abundantly than I can fathom.

Forgetting all of this, there are nights when I am irrational. There are times, due to my toddlerish vantage point, that I feel like I have some very good reasons to be scared. I wonder if it is during those times that my Father quiets me by his love, and even sings me to sleep.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. - Zephaniah 3:17