In the Night, Remember to be Thankful in the Land of the Living

Daily writing prompt

What’s your favorite time of day?

View all responses

At night, when the day is done, and all work has ended, I love the moments of lying beside my husband. I listen to his heartbeat, and I am grateful all over again that while Jesus says that there will be no marrying and giving in marriage in Heaven, we are allowed companionship and love in the land of the living.

Night has always been the loneliest time for me. In the daytime, we work, shop, play, and talk with others. There are few opportunities to focus on our loneliness. As a child, I loved that my older sister would wrap her body around me to make me feel safe, for we were two little girls, ages 9 and 11, in a two-room apartment alone. Our mother worked the graveyard shift.

Ironically, I had to learn to sleep alone and not be afraid of the dark before finding a relationship that did not come at great costs, emotionally, physically (domestic violence), and financially. Loneliness leads us to make bad decisions, and the desperation to be with someone leaves us as prey for the unscrupulous among us.

Once I could sleep alone, I prayed to God for a good man, someone I could love and respect. I asked for a man I wanted to be with, not one I needed to be with to fight off the demons of the night. God blessed me with my lovely Douglas, and each night, when we lay hand in hand or one of us is reclining on the other’s shoulder, that heartbeat in the night reminds me that God hears and answers prayers. It is the best time of the day. I am reminded each night to never forget to thank God for His love in the land of the living.