When I went into Caleb's room for the last time yesterday, ready to get him up from his "nap," this is what I found. (Notice the belly button.)

When I pray for Caleb, I often pray that he would be bold and courageous in following the Lord wholeheartedly. Times like these demonstrate he has the determination and passion necessary to do something wholeheartedly. Now to work on the "following the Lord" part.

Lately, I've been trying to not only ask what God would want me to do in a certain situation, but also what God may want me to remember or to learn from that situation. In between trips to settle Caleb back in his bed yesterday, I thought of a few answers to that question:

• God is enough. He will sustain Caleb and me, even when we don't get as much sleep as I think we need. In Christ, I find reserves of patience, love, energy, and forgiveness that I do not have.
• Both Caleb and I need practice in obeying God and making right choices even when we're tired. Lack of sleep is not an excuse for poor choices. One day Caleb and I will need to make a difficult choice to do the right thing instead of what we may want to do or what may be easy to do. I'd rather practice during naptime than in the middle of a real crisis.
• When God doesn't respond the way I want him to, maybe it's because I'm not listening to him. The last thing Caleb wanted me to do yesterday was to put him back in bed and leave the room. Yet I know that is what he needed. I recently read Psalm 81: "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways...I would would satisfy you." God knows what we need and he promises to meet our every need, but so often I look elsewhere.
• I was also reminded to see this as an opportunity to demonstrate love, mercy and grace instead of an opportunity to simply exercise my parental authority. It doesn't mean Caleb gets away with disobedience. But in the midst of my disobedience, Christ died for me. Is it beyond Him, therefore, to give me the patience and persistence to put Caleb back in bed for the twenty-fifth time without getting angry? God is so patient with me. Can I extend the same kind of patience to my own son, much less people who annoy me more easily than he?

I must need to really learn and remember these things because today we're 1 hour into nap time and no one around here is napping.