Along the journey towards the greater, there are many small, daily steps to better understand oneself, God, and others. This is one of my “daily steps”.
I wonder if Jesus had night terrors.
Probably not? But not much is written about his ordinary life for the first 30 years. Scholars say that not much was written because those years were “ordinary”… but what is ordinary in child-rearing?
For us, night terrors plays into that. They happen less frequently these days but a couple nights ago, both twins had one at the same time. Whatever they were dreaming about was so intense they were sweating and one tried to run away from it. When I placed him back in bed, he sat with his palms up and said “It’s just so heavy.” I immediately grabbed his hands trying to take whatever imaginary heavy thing there was away.
The next morning as they were enjoying some hot chocolate, I asked them if they remembered having a nightmare. “Yes… but I don’t remember what it was about.” Thank God, I thought. I then asked if they remembered that mommy and daddy came and comforted them. “Yes!” they said enthusiastically.
Maybe Jesus didn’t have night terrors, not all kids do. But I’m guessing He had nightmares or even just nights where he couldn’t sleep… and Mary came in and comforted Him.
Those 30 years of ordinary – sometimes that’s what I need to think about. To know and recognize the humanity of Jesus and Mary, and see how even sleepless nights can be full of grace. As @brenebrown said: “Joy comes to us in ordinary moments. We risk missing out when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary.”
As we approach #NewYear2020, the tendency is to search for the extraordinary. The challenge is: can you find #grace in the ordinary?
