Her tears quickly soak the hair on the nape of my neck as I meet her in the hallway and scoop her into my arms. She sobs husky into my shoulder and clings tight, long legs wrapped around my waist.
Her cries have wakened me from a dream of my own, and I feel shaky myself standing there, blinking rapidly and patting her back.
Shhhhhh, precious, I whisper as we enter her room. It's all right now, Mama has you. Shhhhhhh.
I lay her back on the pillow and her arms fling frantic in the semi-dark, groping for me. I slide under the covers next to her and hold tight.
I'm scared, Mama- it's so dark! Don't leave! Don't leave... I soothe with hands through her hair, across her cheek, around her waist. I rub her back, my fingers tracing her spine and massaging shoulders. I'm scared... Don't leave me all alone in the dark! she sobs again, and I pull her chin up towards my face.
Tell me a True Thing, Eliana, I say firmly, and she quiets, breath coming shaky but slower.
You are with me, she gulps.
I smile and tuck her into my shoulder. What else? Tell me another True Thing, my girl.
God is with me. And I'm safe. My nightlight is on. And I like to make soup for Daddy!
Even in the dark, I feel her smile. Tell me a True Thing, Mama! What is true? I slide off the bed and begin to tuck and smooth the covers.
It is true that the Lord grants sleep to the ones that He loves. And it is so very true that He loves you!
We hug close, I whisper a prayer over her and pull the gossamer curtain around her bed and turn to the door.
Mama? she murmurs, blessed sleep coming quicker than I thought it would.
I pray over my girl's room, my hand lingering on the doorframe. And I know He would have me listen deep...
Today when tasks are overwhelming, when the toddler interrupts school work for the hundredth time, when dinner is late and husband has an evening meeting and the house is in chaos.... I will tell myself a True Thing.
Or twenty.
He loves me. He is with me. This will get easier. I will survive. I'll get better at this, if I work at it. I will find the time to work at it. The house is in chaos, but our home is intact. Eventually, they will all be asleep. And so will I. For He grants sleep to the ones that He loves.
I am blessed.
Her cries have wakened me from a dream of my own, and I feel shaky myself standing there, blinking rapidly and patting her back.
Shhhhhh, precious, I whisper as we enter her room. It's all right now, Mama has you. Shhhhhhh.
I lay her back on the pillow and her arms fling frantic in the semi-dark, groping for me. I slide under the covers next to her and hold tight.
I'm scared, Mama- it's so dark! Don't leave! Don't leave... I soothe with hands through her hair, across her cheek, around her waist. I rub her back, my fingers tracing her spine and massaging shoulders. I'm scared... Don't leave me all alone in the dark! she sobs again, and I pull her chin up towards my face.
Tell me a True Thing, Eliana, I say firmly, and she quiets, breath coming shaky but slower.
You are with me, she gulps.
I smile and tuck her into my shoulder. What else? Tell me another True Thing, my girl.
God is with me. And I'm safe. My nightlight is on. And I like to make soup for Daddy!
Even in the dark, I feel her smile. Tell me a True Thing, Mama! What is true? I slide off the bed and begin to tuck and smooth the covers.
It is true that the Lord grants sleep to the ones that He loves. And it is so very true that He loves you!
We hug close, I whisper a prayer over her and pull the gossamer curtain around her bed and turn to the door.
Mama? she murmurs, blessed sleep coming quicker than I thought it would.
It is so very true that I love you.
I pray over my girl's room, my hand lingering on the doorframe. And I know He would have me listen deep...
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8-10
Today when tasks are overwhelming, when the toddler interrupts school work for the hundredth time, when dinner is late and husband has an evening meeting and the house is in chaos.... I will tell myself a True Thing.
Or twenty.
He loves me. He is with me. This will get easier. I will survive. I'll get better at this, if I work at it. I will find the time to work at it. The house is in chaos, but our home is intact. Eventually, they will all be asleep. And so will I. For He grants sleep to the ones that He loves.
I am blessed.
35 fellow travelers shared:
Nice,,thanks
Wow...that made me cry. so sweet...so pure! What a wonderful way to think. What a wonderful truth to teach your children. A very valuable tool they will use for life...."Tell me a true thing"...priceless!
Thank you!
=)
Precious, precious.
Made me weep!
I, too, am absolutely compelled to speak Truth into situations, lives, and fears, teaching my children to say it out loud. Our words are wielded in the spiritual realm to do battle against darkness.
Beautiful example of training your sweet one to engage in spiritual warfare. The Truth does set us free! And in Him, we are free, indeed!
I am so blessed that God sent me to know you and to hear His truths from your blog even from as far away as Kansas. Oh how I needed this today! I have been working on filling my own mind with TRUE THINGS lately, striving to push aside the voice of Satan in my mind... thank you for sharing just what this Momma's heart needed! Love you, friend!
This so beautiful! Thank you for sharing. "Mama, tell me something True" deeply resonates. That I would approach Abba the same way...I can only keep on moving towards that hope.
Light and Love,
Vina
It is true you are a good and thoughtful mama.
It is true your heart is so soft before the Lord.
It is true you live on His promises.
It is true you live in much grace!!!
It is true you spur me on, dear sister!
It is true that I love you!
Ah, just the kind of reminder I needed; I had a rough one yesterday, but I love waking up to a new day with a fresh start and a positive attitude!
Wow, that is beautiful. What a sweet girl!
Oh, I loooove that idea. "Tell me a true thing." We'll be using that one.
Tell me a True thing... I love that phrase.
I, too, love "tell me a true thing". We play "Sleep Sound in Jesus" by Michael Card when the children are young. So full of truths as they drift off to sleep.
Oh ELISE! This is SO beautiful! Thank you for sharing!!! So happy to have found you! I'll come back to visit again!!!
This is beautiful! Thank you for sharing it.
This is so beautiful and I loved every word of it. So glad to meet you here on Tuesdays...thanks for stopping by my place and for your sweet comment.
Elizabeth
http://www.justfollowingjesus.com
Wow! I thank God for you.
I find it difficult to write exactly what I am feeling.
It is true that your precious heart never fails to bring me great joy.
Mmmmm, this is so lovely and hopeful. Thank you for this sweetness.
Oh, this was lovely.
you caught me by surprise and pulled a tear from my eyes.
I love that: Tell me a True Thing. I think I'm going to write that someplace and post it for myself, for all the times I feel overwhelmed and less than adequate for the task at hand.
so beautiful. also, thank you for stopping by my place this morning. it's nice to meet you.
Tears a welling after the night we had last night. Praying, praying, praying for sleep and peace for my sweet family. I love your way of teaching your daughter to claim truth in her fears...and the reminder of how we need to claim truth in the day and in the night. My favorite line though is, "the house is in chaos, but our home is intact." Thank you for this perspective!
What a beautiful post! You have a lovely blog! Have a great day!
Mama Hen
That is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your sweet story and the Lord's amazing TRUTHS.
Beautiful! I love that phrase "tell me true things". What a wonderful way to focus on all the Lord has blessed us with. I am going to have to use this with my girls. Thank you for sharing!
Blessings,
Anna
This is beautiful!! Thanks for reminding me of the ultimate truth. Love your blog!
True thing - simply beautiful.
My first time here. Just beautiful. You are such a talented writer. I felt like I was right there, tucking my own girl back into bed.
I've only just found you, and I'm so glad I did. This is just so, so beautiful. Thank you for the reminder to pray for and with our children every possible moment.
such a beautiful way to remind her of sweet truths amidst fear. I just wanted to come by and say, from one mother to another, thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers on behalf of my daughter. They mean so much! I am forever grateful you chose to take time to lift her up to Him.
thank you. i've got a little one who is often telling me it is too dark. we sat by the fire the other night and she told me how the fire is like jesus. shining bright.
i can get wearied of this routine though, in the middle of the night, when i am also exhausted! this is a sweet way of bringing her mind back to the truth.
dearest elise,
thank you. i'm having a hard time breathing tonight and He led me to this. i so needed this.
bless you.
What a beautiful post, and timely for me. Thank you so much for sharing this!
lovely, lovely, lovely post.
i have been here. holding, asking them to speak the Truth they know to me, speaking the Truth i know to them.
Oh, such a great reminder! I am definitely borrowing that phrase, for myself AND my kids!
thank you! i have been doing this with my daughter and it really helps esp. when she is being teased in school. it was neat ...one afternoon we were with a boy and his mom and the boy told my little girl that she was a bad girl. She started crying. I looked at her and said "Honey, what is true of you?" And in front of this mom and boy we were able to talk about how God has ransomed and redeemed her (she prayed to receive Jesus in November) and that she is precious in His sight, presented holy and blameless, without blemish because of His blood. It was a great way to cope with the teasing and share the good news! Thank you for the idea!
Sigh. We adopted the "tell me one true thing" idea the moment I read this a year ago. And all these months later, it is still a very true thing.
I love you dear friend. You encourage me.
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