Sleeping in the Arms of God

For quite some time, I have been struggling with falling asleep. One day, I was reflecting on my childhood, and remembered a practice that I used to do almost every night when I had trouble sleeping: meditating on heaven with the aid of music.

I had these instrumental piano CDs that I would turn on and listen to in bed. As I listened, I would transport myself in my imagination to heaven and sit with God in this place. I don't think I realized back then that I was communing with God and meditating -- all it felt like was finding a quiet, sacred place of refuge as a child. A place of safety.

But in reality, I was resting in the heavenly arms of God. I was in communion with Him. Back then was the start of my heart lost in heavenly mysteries. It was God drawing me to Himself.

For most of my adult life, bed has not been a sacred place of refuge. If anything, it's a place where all the anxieties of life go to bed with me. I awake easily. My thoughts are hard to still. Anxieties, confusion, and other emotions weigh on me. I find it hard to let go of the burdens and God feels distant.

I don't think I'm alone in that. In my wellness work, I find that many people struggle with sleeping as an adult. We struggle to quiet our minds and find peace enough to sleep well.

Very recently, I turned back to my childhood practice, and slowly but surely, bed is becoming more of a sacred place of refuge. The instrumental music takes me to a place of dreaming about the heavens, imagining me and God together, and of quiet peaceful stillness that leads to rest.

I'm re-creating the bedtime experience as a place of communion with God -- to a sacred place of love between Him and I. And like I was as a little girl, I'm learning to sleep in the arms of God like a daughter rests in the arms of her father.