a fierce warrior

Rowan has been resisting sleep lately. you'd swear we were trying to put her into a crib filled with hot lava, for the anger she emits when we lay her down for naps. of course, it doesn’t last more than a few minutes before she’s fast asleep. however, what used to be two or three hour naps are now forty-five minutes, tops.

this mama misses her alone time.

night time isn’t much better. she sleeps through the night no trouble {thank you, Lord!}, but getting her to go down is almost as difficult as putting drops into my eyes. you can ask my husband {he’s the one who has to try and get them in if I need them}, it’s a task.

last night was no different. she actually went down easily enough at bedtime, which had shifted from 6:30pm to 7pm-ish with daylight saving time. she awoke, however, after her first sleep cycle [forty-five minutes] and was very obviously upset with being alone in her room. I went in once to do some soothing, but when I laid her back down in her crib, she came out of her half-asleep, dopey state and started whining again. I left the room quietly, hoping she would settle down after a minute, but soon accepted the fact that it wasn’t happening.

I sent Joey a quick text, asking him what to do. I didn’t want to just leave her crying in her room, but at the same time, we want her to be able to soothe herself and learn to put herself to sleep. he told me that when he puts her to bed, he always prays over her and her room for the night. I usually pray “with” her -- simple words that she will hopefully pray soon enough at bedtime. but I figured it couldn’t hurt, and when I sat down with her in her rocking chair, I began interceding on her behalf.

I prayed over the room; that it be protected from darkness, a dwelling place for the Spirit while she slept. I prayed for her heart, her mind, her body; that she feel the fullness of His peace + rest. I paused when I felt her body go limp and her breathing even out, her little hands curled at her side, mouth open, knees tucked up toward her belly; I took a minute to kiss everything I could reach without moving + waking her. then I kept praying a few minutes more. {I'm beginning to understand how fleeting these baby moments really are.}

as I paused to breathe a thank you for God’s covering in her space, I felt a cool breeze and got chills all over my body. I experienced God say six words that I will be praying over her life from this day on: