180 Degrees

     Ah, the beauty of morning.  Though my favorite time of day, I have a dirty little secret for you: I am not a  true morning person.  Deep down, there has always been a part of me that envied true morning people. I could never understand how anyone could wake up abounding in energy, fully ready to tackle the day while others of us (literally or figuratively) leave our beds kicking and screaming.  And to be perfectly frank, I didn't know how I could make the big transition with my own baby in the house, especially seeing how he still doesn't sleep through the night. What happened? Let me get a cup of coffee and I'll tell you.

    To put it mildly, Joel and I were having a problem.  He would get up, go to work, while I would try and catch as many winks as I could cajole Ransom into letting me get.  Then Joel was gone, I was alone with my buddy.  Because his naps have become progressively shorter, and frequently coming right before Joel came home for lunch, I would be fortunate to have fifteen minutes to call my own.   I was a wreck.  When Joel came home, I'm ashamed to admit I would take it out on him.  Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure what "it" was every time.
    These types of days were adding-up quickly, and toppling onto each other.  We were struggling to find any kind of quality alone time together, and I had pretty
much zero time truly to myself.  My house was falling apart.  We had not been on a date for literally months.  Everything culminated in us very nearly losing our lives in a car wreck that week, the week of Valentine's day.
    Ransom had an appointment that day, about a 40-minute drive from our home.  It had already been another stressful day; you know, one of those "chase the UPS truck down at the stoplight because he didn't give you time to answer the door" type of day.  As Joel was driving us along the interstate (far left lane), the car in front of us suddenly slowed down.  Though there was considerable room between us and him, it wasn't enough.  Joel swerved right to avoid a full-on collision, but cars were continuing to pass us there, so he quickly changed direction, taking us to the left. I saw the concrete median divide coming right at me.  Our car did a full 180 degree turn, and stopped right in the center of the left shoulder.  (by the way, facing on-coming interstate traffic is incredibly scary!).
    The car behind us had done the exact same thing.  We still are not sure how what happened happened, but we ARE sure that God was protecting us that day in a very obvious way.  Our car should have been totaled.  We should have ended up in the hospital, or worse.  And yet, Ransom slept through the whole ordeal, we turned our blinker on, beeped the horn a couple times as three lanes of traffic stopped, and got back on the road.  Not one scratch on our car.  And yes, we made it just fine to Ransom's appointment.  As we discussed the incident, we realized that the sleep deprivation and depression were not just first-time-parent issues.
    You know, sometimes Satan blasts blow after agonizing blow, and you don't know when it's going to end.  You don't always realize what's really going on. God ended it that day.  I had experienced hit after hit.  Joel had experienced hit after hideous hit.  Yes, not even Ransom had been spared an unfair share of problems that week.  But there is so much joy in knowing that even the Devil himself has to have permission to do just one thing to God's children.
    Sometimes we get so caught up in "doing life" that it takes a 180-degree turn to "turn us around" and get our focus back on our Lord.  Pastor also spoke that Sunday on the fact that Spiritual maturity is not about what you "do", but on knowing who you are in Christ.  It was the very thing both Joel and I so desperately needed to hear.  I love the way God works!
    So why open this post talking about how great mornings are? Joel and I sorely needed a break. We took a weekend with family, and we were able to (finally) go on a date and re-strategize.  Because sometimes, it isn't late nights that are the problem, it's the strategy (or lack thereof).  We enjoyed a day alone at Mitchell's Fish Market (loved it!), and discussed our options.  After our "non-accident" accident, we realized that something needed to change not just Spiritually, but practically, and change it did (yay teamwork!).
    I have been surprised to discover that, though I am not a high-energy morning person, I can steal some quiet moments alone both with Joel and (sometimes) by myself.  We suddenly find time that was hidden here all along.  I thought it would add to my exhaustion, but the opposite is true. Additionally, I have been more productive than I have been in ages.  Moving Ransom's bedtime by just one half-hour earlier has made a world of difference, and now Joel and I have more time in the evenings, too; we have time to wind-down, AND get enough sleep so that we both feel well-rested for a change!
     I hope and pray that God would use our experience, difficult though it was, to encourage someone else in their walk of faith. To all my Brothers and Sisters In Christ, "...He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind."  (2 Timothy 1:7).


In God's Grace,
Joel, Heather & Baby Ransom