Article March 23, 1998 Issue

No sleep? Try waking up!

How one woman found peace—and rest—in the dead of night.

By Candace H. Berschauer

I put my infant daughter into her bed, knowing she would wake again in three or four hours for her next feeding. It was midnight but I was wide awake. I had a new baby! I was a mom! I was so excited I couldn't sleep. Eventually my schedule did return to normal; but it seemed that all too often changes or challenges in my life were affecting my ability to sleep. I now know I wasn't alone in my struggle to get a good night's rest. Many people are seeking a solution to sleep disruption and deprivation. Fortunately, there's a ready answer.

As it became clear to me that I needed to resolve this problem in my own experience, I turned to the Bible. I recalled the description of Jesus as able to sleep calmly on a boat in the midst of a violent storm. When he was awakened by his disciples, he didn't despair; he calmed the storm (see Mark 4:37–41). His peaceful, Christly thought must have ruled out turbulence of any kind. I knew that this Christly way of thinking had blessed my life before, so I wanted to rely on this same means for ending the sleeplessness I was experiencing. From reading the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, I had learned this about the Christ: "Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness" (p. 332). I knew that I needed to listen for this heavenly message.

During an especially distressing point in my life, I was awake night after night, playing solitaire or aimlessly watching television. One particular night I was channel surfing, tears were streaming down my face, and I was filled with self-pity. Yet a simple thought came to me: "The world has need of thee...." 

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