Lesson From A Baby

So many of you might know that I'm a nanny this summer out in Seattle for my two wonderful twin cousins, Elif and Jemre, who are just about to hit the 4 month old mark. These babies are great. People, you may THINK that your babies are/were the cutest but sadly, I have news for you. Elif and Jemre are the CUTEST babies. In the world. I love em I love em I love them!!! Not only are the adorable but they, these tiny three and a half month old babies teach me! They're just that great. So here's my lesson from Elif:

The other afternoon, I was trying to put Elif down for a nap. Elif was very very sleepy, it'd been about two hours since her last nap (wish I got to sleep every 2 hours, by the way!) and she was FUSSY! Now, I know exactly how to make Elif fall asleep. She likes me to hold her and listen to country (yep, I sing along- that's her favorite part) and we sway to that deliciously wonderful music.

But see, here's the thing. Elif wants to try everything wrong to make herself sleep. She opens her eyes as wide as possible, she kicks her feet, tries to eat her hands (she LOVES sucking her fingers) and does pretty much the opposite of what you should. The funny thing is all she has to do is relax and let ME do the work. I can do it all for her. I know just how to comfort her and all she has to do is trust that I'll do it. I wish she'd learn to submit. I wish she'd just learn to relax and let me be her comfort.

I bet God thinks the same things sometimes. I wonder if He's ever sitting up in heaven thinking "Wow. Stop kicking and pushing and trying to find your own way! Just relax here in my perfect arms and I'll do it all for you." That's really all there is. When we just say "Okay, I give in. I'm not going to try and do this my own way because it's just not working," that's when we can finally have peace. Real peace. Not peace as in "Great! I have a good job and won't have to worry about money for the rest of my life." I mean REAL peace.

You know that feeling when you're sitting on the beach at sunsetand it's just you and your friend or spouse or someone you care greatly for or you're even just alone but you can finally relax? Then you take that deep breath and exhale out and it's like your worries just got exhaled? You know that feeling I'm talking about? That's NOTHING compared to the feeling of relaxing in God's arms. There's something inexplicably peaceful and comforting in the words "Okay, God. I give up fighting You. I want Your way to be my way. I'm following You now."