{"id":2934,"date":"2012-08-01T05:05:43","date_gmt":"2012-08-01T09:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2934"},"modified":"2012-08-04T21:13:55","modified_gmt":"2012-08-05T01:13:55","slug":"two-a-m-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/08\/two-a-m-reflections.html","title":{"rendered":"Two A.M. reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I often wake up at 2am now.\u00a0 This is a new version of insomnia for me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had trouble going to sleep for as long as I can remember.\u00a0\u00a0But once asleep, I was able to stay asleep.\u00a0 This morning I was awake at 2:15.<\/p>\n

I learned long ago that insomnia doesn\u2019t have to be the worst thing that happens.\u00a0 I\u2019ve read\u00a0hundreds of interesting books.\u00a0 I\u00a0finished my degree, gotten my masters and written four books. (Okay, I\u2019ve written 11 books, but you only count the ones published.)\u00a0 I seem to be able to do everything during the night but housework.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>During the dark hours, there is an unsettledness about life.\u00a0 Unanswered questions haunt my mind and rob my spirit.\u00a0\u00a0At the least expected moment, unfinished tasks, which\u00a0lurk behind the closet doors, spring gleefully into my presence\u00a0accusing me of woeful neglect.\u00a0 Eventually I must force my weary body up from the bed\u00a0and begin the road back to\u00a0faith-filled thoughts.<\/p>\n

Insomnia isn\u2019t considered a disability in any of the textbooks. Yet,\u00a0I sometimes wonder how often people within the mentally challenged community would identify with my struggles.\u00a0 I cannot seem to find the key that unlocks\u00a0sleep.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It seems easy for so many others.\u00a0 Everyone else seems to know the secret.\u00a0 Why is it kept from me?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Then again, why can\u2019t Brad read?\u00a0 He can take apart any piece of equipment, repair it and put it back together.\u00a0 Tom reads and is high functioning but he knows nothing about numbers.\u00a0 Can that be explained?\u00a0 Why does Carl struggle with normal conversation?\u00a0 He can recite every sports statistic known to man.\u00a0 Why can Tammy sing every word to a song,\u00a0yet\u00a0an interpreter is needed to decipher any\u00a0sentence, she tries to put together?<\/p>\n

The Special Gathering is a ministry within the mentally challenged community and we work daily with persons with developmental disabilities.\u00a0 We do classic ministry of evangelism and discipleship.\u00a0 It is always a challenge to find and amplify the best in our members\u00a0while attempting to minimize the deficits.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the challenge keeps me awake.\u00a0 But\u00a0then everything keeps me awake!\u00a0What about you?\u00a0 What seems easy and natural\u00a0to everyone else but hard for you?\u00a0 How does this make you identify with your members?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I often wake up at 2am now.\u00a0 This is a new version of insomnia for me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had trouble going to sleep for as long as I can remember.\u00a0\u00a0But once asleep, I was able to stay asleep.\u00a0 This morning I was awake at 2:15. I learned long ago that insomnia doesn\u2019t have to be the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,20,3,40,381,186,49,16,8,4,41,152],"tags":[690,21,688,451,7,699,715,450,701,694,689,57,6,700],"class_list":["post-2934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-health-2","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","category-stress","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-closet-door","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-insomnia","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-prayer","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo A.M. reflections - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/08\/two-a-m-reflections.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two A.M. reflections - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I often wake up at 2am now.\u00a0 This is a new version of insomnia for me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had trouble going to sleep for as long as I can remember.\u00a0\u00a0But once asleep, I was able to stay asleep.\u00a0 This morning I was awake at 2:15. I learned long ago that insomnia doesn\u2019t have to be the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/08\/two-a-m-reflections.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-01T09:05:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-08-05T01:13:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/08\/clock.jpg?w=140&h=116\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Two A.M. reflections - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/08\/two-a-m-reflections.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Two A.M. reflections - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"I often wake up at 2am now.\u00a0 This is a new version of insomnia for me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had trouble going to sleep for as long as I can remember.\u00a0\u00a0But once asleep, I was able to stay asleep.\u00a0 This morning I was awake at 2:15. I learned long ago that insomnia doesn\u2019t have to be the…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/08\/two-a-m-reflections.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-08-01T09:05:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-08-05T01:13:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/08\/clock.jpg?w=140&h=116"}],"author":"Linda G. 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