listening

While I was trying to get Sunday dinner together, a rough time, Sam instructed me to hold still so he could listen. We both stood very still for a few minutes; he cupped his hand around his ear, listening.

"I did hear the Spirit." he announced.

What does one say next? "Oh!" I replied. "What did it say?"

He had to think about that a long time. He did a lot of this thinking while also trying to talk. Adults can barely do this. He did  not succeed. I finally  pieced together his message.

Apparently, the Spirit told him that the cars we had recently bought at the store, that were rewards for nights that he stayed in his bed all night, were actually not rewards, and he could have them right now. "They are not for sleeps." he claimed.

"Really?" I challenged. "Because I think the Spirit told you that you should listen to your mom and daddy, and that when you sleep through the night it makes them so happy, and these trucks are for sleeps."

"Yeah. He did say that." he admitted.


But you know what? That was the turning point of years of his poor sleeping. And he's slept through the night almost every night since. So maybe it was the Spirit. But you can't blame a boy for trying. And I was grateful to hear that he was listening in Sharing Time.