The quarantine has affected my sleep cycles. Actually, that's not quite right. It has interrupted the time I get out of bed every morning. During the school year, on Monday-Friday, I hop out of the sack at 3:30 AM.... but there's not much point of that now. I've never been a good sleeper at night although I can go to sleep at the drop of a hat for five minutes during a free period at school. I can fall asleep but I have a hard time staying in that state. This isn't the first time I've mentioned this but I can only remember sleeping through the night one time, the day Dad died. I didn't even take off my clothes- just plopped down on the folks' bed in St. Louis. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
Several days ago, I found a YouTube link which is posted below. It's simply sounds of rain and thunder to sleep by. Two nights ago, I used it. I can't tell if it helped because I always fall asleep immediately and I still woke up. Last night, I didn't use but when I woke up after several hours, I plugged it in and slept pretty good so I'll use it tonight. The funny thing is, I know it's not real, at least in the context of knowing it's not raining outside my window. There's no doubt in my mind I do sleep better when it is actually raining, or at least I think I do. If we can't have the real thing, we at least can pipe in a substitute.
When I taught in Tennessee, I had bonus questions on all my social science tests that centered around music: CH's 4 favorite Beatles' Songs Using Girl's Names or CH's 4 Favorite Songs About Crying. The kids could write them out at the end of an exam and get a little bit of extra credit. One bonus I used was CH's 4 Favorite Songs About Rain. There's a bunch of them! My favorite, though, was always Brook Benton's classic Rainy Night In Georgia which was written by Tony Joe White. (It was one of White's first songs to write, along with Poke Salad Annie, and he penned it after hearing Ode To Billy Joe and seeing himself as Billy Joe McAllister.) Rainy Night, a gorgeous ballad, to me reinforces that we associate rain with sadness, especially in music. (See also Rainy Days And Mondays, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.) But isn't rain a necessity to life itself? Why should it bring us negative emotions?
Let me go back to the last point I made. If rain makes us sad, why does it apparently help us sleep? We know from Scriptures that too much rain is bad and used for punishment and too little rain is bad and used for punishment. We know rain was held up by prayer from Elijah and released again after prayer from Elijah. But it was also seen as a blessing to the children of God and that it produces crops. We are told that manna rained down from heaven when the people of Israel were in the wilderness. Both Isaiah and Hosea speak of the Lord raining righteousness- what an illustration! Maybe it's the right kind of rain that delights us at night, like Goldilocks. (Not too hard, not too soft, just right.) Maybe it's a reminder of our Father giving us what we need when we need it. King David said it well in Psalm 4:8:
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord make me dwell in safety.
And David's son, Solomon, put it this way in Proverbs 3:24:
When you lie down, you will not be afraid, when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
As I think about it, I do think that's why I like the rain when I've retired for the night. I'm reminded, after prayers, of the sweet promise of protection we have from above at the end of a long and maybe stressful day. And don't forget this: rain doesn't need a prescription, it's non habit forming, and it's free! What more can you ask?
To hear Brook Benton's Rainy Night In Georgia, click or copy/paste link below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDRbF80NKDU
To open the rain sounds video, click or copy/paste the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ0q38yqIC8
Applicable quote of the day:
"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."
Langston Hughes
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
E-mail me at shawley@westburychristian.org
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