Friday Fiction: I Lay Me Down in Peace, and Sleep

Ok, so this story isn't EXACTLY fiction, but so be it. It's my choice to post today for Fiction Friday.I don't THINK I've shared this one yet. It was my 2nd Editor's Choice winner at FaithWriters in November of 2007, for the topic "Calm". Enjoy, be blessed, and relax - Jesus is your rest.
Love,
Cat

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I LAY ME DOWN IN PEACE, AND SLEEP

I turn off the light, plunging the bathroom into darkness. I ease the door open, careful not to make a sound. My feet shuffle blindly and silently across the bedroom carpet until my toes find Lady’s doggie bed. I bend down and whisper loving nighty-nights to her as I stroke her silky fur.

My Jesus, You are the Light of Love, ever shining in the darkness. Even when I can’t see You, I can reach out in confidence to touch You, knowing You are there.

Warm and drowsy from the bath, I let the silky robe fall to the floor and I slip between the freshly laundered sheets. The cool, smooth cotton is a soothing balm to my flushed, damp skin. Musk and sandlewood fill my nostrils; the heady scents of bath oil permeate my senses.

Jesus, You are my cool refreshment, soothing me when I fall into You. I breathe You in; Your perfume fills me.

I inch upward until my heavy head finds the hollow in the pillow. With my head cradled, the tension in my neck is eased. Tendons and sinew unwind, my shoulders relax, vertebrae align.

Oh, Jesus, in You is all true alignment.

I snuggle down into the pillowy mattress. It conforms to my curves, creating a nest for my tired body. My limbs start to relax. My muscles begin to unknot.

Jesus, I am being molded into Your image, and it is Heavenly.

I fumble for the blanket, pull it up to my neck, then around my ears. Not quite warm enough, I grope for the quilt, find it at the foot of the bed, and add its comforting weight. Like a cat, I luxuriously arch my back, straighten my knees; my bare legs glide between the layers of satiny smooth cotton. I sigh in contentment.

Jesus, You are my covering. In You I am safe and warm. Without You, I would be exposed and ashamed, cold and lost.

One foot ventures across the expanse of the king-sized bed until it encounters his warmth on the sheets. My ever-cold toes are in ecstasy. Just a bit farther, and I feel his calf. I relish that simple touch.

Jesus, You are my inner fire. Burn brightly in me.

All sounds, save for his snores, are extinguished by the white-noise of the fan. I concentrate on clearing my mind of the inner cacophony resounding in the silence. I concentrate on Him.

”Be still, and know that I am God.”

The whirlwind of thoughts in my head does not cease, but does fade into the shadow of His presence

I am secure. I am at peace. As I talk with God, I drift off to sleep.

Jesus, You are my rest


”I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

© 2007

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