My two youngest and I headed to Norman for Thanksgiving two days early and returned the day after my husband and our oldest headed home.  Franklin and Bailey are tied to the school calendar while Caden, Emma, and I enjoy the flexibility of a home-school schedule.  As our travel days were officially school days, I checked out Peter Pan on CD for the drive.

Written by playwright J.M. Barrie from his original play, Peter Pan is both a familiar story that my children enjoyed (with some challenging vocabulary and structure), and a story with some interesting ideas for adults to gnaw on.  I love these kinds of reads.  I’d not read Peter Pan and have particularly enjoyed thinking through one of the scenarios Barrie presented.

The beginning of the book introduces the reader to three siblings, John, Michael, and Wendy, and their parents Mr. and Mrs. Darling.  While the children do not tell their mother about Peter, who begins to visit them at night, Mrs. Darling knows the name Peter both from her own childhood and from her nightly arranging of her children’s thoughts and experiences from the day.

It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day.  If you could keep awake (but of course you can’t) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her.  It is quite like tidying up drawers.  You would see her on her knees, I expect, lingering humorously over some of your contents, wondering where on earth you had picked this thing up, making discoveries sweet and not so sweet, pressing this to her cheek as if it were as nice as a kitten, and hurriedly stowing that out of sight.  When you wake in the morning, the naughtiness and evil passions with which you went to bed have been folded up small and placed at the bottom of your mind; and on the top, beautifully aired, are spread out your prettier thoughts, ready for you to put on.

I found this idea, a mother sitting beside her children unpacking and airing out the day, re-arranging experiences and thoughts, and hiding naughtiness, hoping it would stay hidden, to be interesting.  I’ve thought about this idea off and on for two weeks.  I certainly don’t assume to know anything about the author and my mind’s wanderings might warrant correction from a theologian, but this idea has been comforting to me.  I’ll explain why.

I love the idea of my Heavenly Father sitting beside me every night helping me understanding and make sense of my day, clarifying and correcting while allowing for discernment.  I imagine Him arranging my thoughts (and problems I might be wrestling with) with His finger, much like the technology of touch screens allows us to grab and move apps on our iphones.  I choose to believe He “airs out” my day for me, refreshes me, and allows me to start each day with new joy and strength.

I often go to bed worn out after a day of work on a project, or lay down thinking about a problem or situation.  When I wake up, I have a solution.  During my sleep, I’m given an idea:  a plan or process for completing a project, a new approach, or the perfect last lick.  While I do believe my mind works better rested than worn out, I believe too that God is ever present and ever active in the supernatural and I believe He downloads into our life (and mind) when we are willing.  In fact, I often pray that I will recognize and act on His will for my life.  Maybe my sleep is one of the few times in my day that God can hold my complete attention.

Job 33 – ¹⁴ For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.  ¹⁵ He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds

I also often wake up in the middle of the night with a praise song playing in my mind, as though a portion of a known song, (6-10 words), is stuck on repeat.  I will go back to bed and wake in the morning with the same song playing.  I think the song has, quite literally, been playing all night long.  The words are always in line with whatever my spirit is wrestling with.

For example, most days I’m sure that this new season is exactly what God has been prepared me for.  I am usually able to stay focused throughout my day and am confident at the end of the day with our home school experience and my Me and Thee Studios progress.  But occasionally I doubt myself all day long.  I had one of those days earlier this week and remember being discouraged when I went to bed.  I don’t remember the song God placed in my Spirit but I think it was a known song and the gist of the refrain was that God is in control and that He has ordained my steps.  Jeremiah (31:26) says of revelatory dreams, “At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.”  My song filled my thoughts every time I woke up throughout the night and when I woke up the following morning I remember thinking, “Thank you, God, for Your faithfulness in bringing me peace.”

I pray God is generous in unpacking and airing out your days as you invite Him to reveal His will in your life.

PS – The roll out for our collection of faith-based leveled readers is right around the corner.  Our final anthologies go to press in mid-December.  Check out more about Me and Thee Studios, our original praise and worship music, and our faith-based Early Reader Collection at http://www.meandtheestudios.com/.  Don’t miss the “Store” where you will want to reserve your “early bird” collection(s) and receive our 10% discount (available only until 12/31/13).