Learning to Sleep

One of the things that Chris and I still joke about as new parents is the basic, well, fact, I guess, that we read about in all the parenting books...babies have to be TAUGHT how to go to sleep.

Now, one one level, I suppose this isn't true--in that I'm sure a baby could, on it's own, wear itself to the point of exhaustion, and just go to sleep (probably cry itself to sleep). But as adults, that's not how we go to sleep. We start to feel ourselves getting sleepy, and say to ourselves, "Gee, I guess it's bedtime." And we go through our routine, and then, soon enough, barring any problems, we're asleep. We may have a set bedtime that helps with that, but there are lots of ways we help ourselves go to sleep.

No so much with babies. Babies feel themselves starting to get tired, and may first give a few cues (turning head away from stimulation, rubbing eyes, maybe even sucking hand--which itself is a development)...but then, if babies stay awake, things quickly go from bad to worse. That whole "keep the baby awake more and she'll sleep more at night"? Yeah, not really--at least once she's got days and nights straight.

One book I've read explains that you can't make a baby sleep, or sleep longer, but you can help the baby do those things. How do you do that? Provide the best environment. Gradually give the baby more role, as they are developmentally able (for example, once a baby can find it's own hand, it becomes better able to self-soothe).

Is it ridiculous that babies need to learn how to go to sleep? Sure, on some level. And it's one area of parenting where, Chris and I think, it's the most hit or miss. Is the baby nursing enough? There are ways to tell. Is the baby sleeping enough? Much harder to tell.

All of this has had me thinking lately about how hard it is for us to learn to follow God faithfully. In some ways, it's just like a baby learning to sleep. Seems like we really ought to be able to do this, follow faithfully, love God and neighbor, all that stuff, doesn't it? But just like babies, we can't always (perhaps even usually) do it on our own. Just like babies, we may get caught, again and again, at the same point (Anna always stirs at 35 minutes from naps and needs help to go back down). Like babies, our heavenly Father's goal for us is to be able to do this ourselves as we grow...but it takes a lot of time, support and learning to get there.

Now, I could of course list all the ways this metaphor falls short--and metaphor for God necessarily does. But it's had me thinking of my own discipleship and wondering how much I've learned. Whether I'm taking increasing responsibility for my faithful (understanding all we do is really by the power of God), or whether I'm just waiting for God to make it happen while I sit back and whine. I've still got a lot of growth left...how about you?