Yup, Even When I'm Sleepy - Philippians 3

I'm sitting here in my freshly-vacuumed living room. Emmy is fast asleep, thankfully. She's been night-waking CONSTANTLY, like every hour, for the past few weeks because of fluid in her ears. We held off on antibiotics until the last minute because she's so young, but they were definitely needed, and I'm happy that she can rest easy now. Ear pain is no joke! I had a bad head cold/ear infection in high school and my eardrum burst because of it. I had to wear cottonballs in my ear for a few weeks, and I picked up the nickname "Dolores Cottonball" from the boy who sat behind me in Spanish class. Get it, dolores... pain... haha.

Anyway... these past few sleepless weeks have made me examine who I am in times of inconvenience. Can I be honest for a minute and say that we as humans are probably at our worst when we are hungry or tired? I have zero tolerance for tomfoolery when I am seriously hungry, and when I'm exhausted, I get super emotional. Thus, a very weepy, frustrated, down-and-out mommy emerged last Sunday after two weeks of begging Emmy to sleep and not knowing what the problem was. I know that there are worse things in life than not getting enough rest and your baby barely sleeping at all, but it really took a toll on me.

I needed to read only the first verse in Philippians 3 to get the reminder that I needed:

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

Whatever happens. Hmmm. Around here, we get lots of happenings in the form of Army maneuverings. Our schedule is never completely set, and often gets upended at a moment's notice, as it was last week. Yet, Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord. And he tells us that rejoicing safeguards our faith. It secures it.

Rejoicing looks different to everyone, but to me, it's an expression of joy in the midst of life -- good or bad. I used the online tool Blue Letter Bible to search for "rejoice" in the Scriptures. Here are the results, and just reading through them encourages me.

The rest of the chapter focuses on how Paul believes that we should live out our faith in simplicity. We must be on guard against people who try to add burdens and unnecessary and unscriptural burdens to the act of belief (3:2), should let go of all the religious and social standings and qualifications that we think make us something special (3:5-9), and we must focus on Christ alone as our Savior and the one who can bring us into eternity (3:10-14).

Even when Anthony is gone suddenly for weeks and Emmy is sick, I will choose to rejoice. I will choose joy so that my faith will continue. I will choose to pursue righteous living, and to listen to those who remind me to rejoice.

Last thought here, and I hope that it gets you pumped up to keep running the race! ...

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (3:14)