Will & Sister are out of town visiting relatives so the family bed has been half empty these past two days.  Which may explain why the ever courageous Brother who lay quietly for several minutes after being tucked in finally broke the silence with, “Mama, I scared.”  On the other hand it may just be a habit he picked up from Sister.  She frequently (it seems) uses the “I’m scared” tactic to prolong wakefulness.  I am not certain of the purposefulness of this - she does have an active imagination and she can be a bit of a coward so maybe she really is scared.  I am telling all this to my parents and the conversation strays to our own nighttime childhood thoughts.  Papa reveals, “I used to lay in bed and listen to the wolves.  I was sure they could come up on the roof and in through my second floor window so when I heard them howling I would sneak to the window and peak over the sill just to be sure they weren’t coming.”  Listening to his story reminds me of the nights I slept in that very same second floor room.  There was a small hole in the floor near the head of the bed.  This was no problem during the day but at night after logic was already slumbering I became convinced that if the corner of my bed slipped into that hole it would cause a chain reaction whereby the whole bed would fall through to the living room below. 

These thoughts seem so foolish now but it occurs to me that while I no longer fear the floor caving in or monsters under the bed I do sometimes at night let my mind consider the possibility of not having enough money to buy food or that something terrible might happen to somone I love or worst of all, that I might grow old alone.  It is then that I must stop to wake up Logic and call in my old friend Faith.  None of these things are likely to happen but even if they should I know a Hope that never fails.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; Do not be discouraged.—Deuteronomy 31:8