Why Nighttime Is My Favorite Time of Being a Parent

Parenting is no joke. It's a full time, round the clock, lifestyle. 

The days are packed with adventures. We go on hikes, we build forts, we play with food, and leave memorable impressions on the other shoppers in the grocery store.

 I switch laundry, grade math tests, wash sippy cups, clip 40 little fingernails, read countless books, break up fights, and read Lego manuals. 

And even though it's hard, stressful, confusing, and leaves me wondering how in the world I'm responsible for four little humans, it's the most awesome adventure I'm honored to be a part of. 

But my favorite part of parenting is at nighttime, when they're fast asleep. It's when real parenting happens. 

I sneak into their dark room and listen to the rhythmic breathing of their still little bodies under the covers. 

In those still moments of tucking covers around sleeping little boys I remember to quit trying so hard to parent and one by one I pray over them. 

I pray blessings and safety and health. I give thanks until my eyes fill. I pray for their futures and their wives. I pray for God to use them in mighty ways. I ask for wisdom to be the mom each of them need. I pray until I run out of words and just stay on my knees, in God's presence in the middle of a little boys' room. 

Parenting is 24/7, but it's the night hours of praying over sleeping little men and one princess that reignites the passion of parenting. I'm a tool in God's hands in the lives of these little people He created. 

And sitting in the dark before my Heavenly Father, praying over peaceful little faces that are as still as they ever get, is one of my favorite moments in the round the clock'ness of parenting.