Good Night. Sleep Tight. Don’t let the…..

All too often we’ve heard that rhyme that says, “Good Night. Sleep Tight. Don’t let the Bed Bugs bite”. All too often we’ve said it once or twice in our lifetime, truly not realizing that this can be more than a rhyme. It can be a reality.

One late evening, a month ago, my son mentions to me that he was itchy because he got bit. I knew this couldn’t be mosquitos because, well it was still very cold out. I immediately text the experts (my friends), who would be able to better tell me if these were bed bug bites. Unfortunately, one of my friends says, “oh Sharon, I am so sorry, but that is a bed bug bite.”

My first instinct was to get him out of his bed, remove all the sheets, put them in a bag and move him to another bed. I briefly looked over the bed, considering it was late at night, to see if I can see anything. I didn’t so I went to work the next day and asked my husband and oldest son to please make sure and tear (a bit dramatic but I wasn’t kidding) the bed apart and see if they could find anything.  They did and when I got home showed me a small dead bug they found. Again, I consulted my experts (my friends) and asked if that was a bed bug. Once again that same friend said, “oh Sharon, I am so sorry, but that is a bed bug.”

This was a sign for me to take things serious, it was time to take stronger measures and so I did. I took the boys out of their room and took the next 3 days off. I sent my son to buy the foggers for the room and the next day began my own extermination of these bugs. We came back 2 hours later while hub was at work and kids in school and we began to take the beds apart. Mind you, my boys have these huge wooded beds that have drawers in them, perfect camp for these little bad boys. We proceeded by taking the beds apart to find just a little more evidence that maybe, just maybe there can be more bugs. But, we found no more. Not one bug at all.

This went on for the next 3 days. We bought bed bug spray. Sprayed every possible corner, hole, screws. You name it, we sprayed it. We put clothes, linen, curtains, everything in bags to wash in hot water. All this to get rid of the pesky little insects that, we only found one of.

Although I was searching for bugs, I found something else. Something I wasn’t looking for during this ordeal. A LESSON. During these 3 days God wanted to show me some things that I was just not seeing in everyday life.

As I sat before the Lord on the first day I took off to address this bed bug issue, He asked me to be still and write down some possible things I could be learning from all of this. I’ll share some of those with you.

1. You can’t always control every situation. Some things are out of your control and that’s okay.
2. In all circumstances, I NEED to believe and trust you.
3. I am quick to fix the evident and get rid of the problem, yet I don’t respond the same when the enemy whispers lies to me.
4. Did you stop to ask God how to best handle this situation?
5. Fear, if you continue to let it, will consume you.
6. If you look close enough, you will see, I AM near!

Though all of these are true, there was one that stood out to me most. Number 3.  One of my biggest struggles I have is in the mind. It’s with negative thinking and unrealistic expectations. This has a lot to do with my upbringing (that’s an whole other blog post).

I realized that I allow the enemy to much campground in my mind, in my thought life. I do this by negative self-talk and choosing to believe every thought that comes into my mind that isn’t in line with God’s word.

I quickly identified the problem with the bed bugs and immediately sought out help and activated a plan to get rid of them. Yet when the enemy comes at my mind, twisting the truth of God’s word or distracting me, keeping me from total dependence on God, I don’t respond in the same way. Ouch! Talk about a LESSON. One I needed to hear.

God’s thoughts and ways are nothing like mine. His word says it best,

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)

Will I choose to believe and trust His best no matter how hard it seems? The choice is mine! The choice is yours!

The rest of that rhyme says, “if they do, grab a shoe & beat them till they’re black and blue.”  Another says, “if they do grab a shoe, give them something else to chew.”

Oh my friends that we would be able to do the same when the enemy comes at us with lies, fear, worry, anxiety, fill in the blank. That we would be able to grab the sword of the Spirit, the very word of God and give him something else to chew. You will see as you do, he will flee away from you (Ha! see what I did there!!! 😉)