Mid-night Visitor

I heard a sudden knocking on my bedroom door and nearly jumped out of bed. As I called out, "Come in," I rolled over to look at the clock. It was 12:22AM.
Then I looked back at the now-opened door, and saw Matthew standing there.
My first thought was, Why is this child still up??? But he was quick to explain.
Matthew said he couldn't get to sleep because he was afraid that he was going to think about scary things, which would cause him to have bad dreams. And since he didn't want to have bad dreams - he didn't want to fall asleep.
So I had my second thought. And you want me to do WHAT about this problem???
(I tend to be low on compassion when I'm woken up in the middle of the night.)

Fortunately, God is never low on compassion and He gave me what I was lacking in the moment.

I stumbled out of bed and took the hand of my teary little boy, leading him out of my room and into the hallway. And I'm telling you, if I ever had a doubt that God could give me enough grace to make it through a difficult moment - HE erased it right there. Because even though everything in me wanted to tell Matthew to toughen up, be brave, and go to bed, I found myself sitting down and talking with him about his fears. Reminding him that God is bigger than everything which scares Matthew, that HE is able to handle every fear Matthew may have, and that God loves Matthew and will always take care of him.
By this time I was sitting on Matthew's bed and he was laying down. I sang 'Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus' to him, we talked some more, and I prayed for my son. He seemed quite peaceful then, and I kissed him and went to bed.
I lay in my bed for quite a while then - praying for Matthew, asking God to protect him and to help Matthew look to Him in the midst of all the trials he will face throughout his life. I prayed that Matthew would recognize God's ability to handle all the fears he faces. I asked God to speak through me as an example of faith to my son. And I thanked Him for that opportunity - even in the middle of the night - to talk about His goodness and faithfulness.

I stayed awake far too long that night. And I was quite tired the next day as a result. But as I reflected back on it all, I realized the interrupted sleep and the weary body were totally worth it! What a blessing to be able to share my faith with my little Mid-night Visitor.