“There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.“
Psalm 4: 6-8
“I’m in the mood for something coconutty.”
I opened my eyes. I had been dozing off and on for almost two hours in the car, some of the best sleep I had managed all week. The voice belonged to my daughter, who had also been dozing in the car. My husband, wide awake in the driver’s seat, welcomed us both to the land of the living.
While sleep is definitely not the territory of the dead, neither is sleep an activity of alertness, so the welcome back to awareness helped me process the request for coconut. It took me several seconds to realize I was in the car and not on my boat dock wrestling a thief who was attempting to steal my kayak.
Dreams are funny things. A few weeks ago I told my husband I had to finish trying on dresses before I could make his breakfast as I was so deeply ensconced in a dream when he woke me to ask if breakfast was coming! Other dreams flash and fade, fleeting images of faces and places teasing you to remember.
Scientifically, REM sleep, that period of rapid eye movement in which dreams occur, is thought to begin one to two hours after you fall asleep. Before you get to dream state you pass through three stages of sleep: light sleep for the first ten minutes, followed by a time of muscle relaxation for the next thirty minutes, until you hit deep sleep which lasts for 20-40 minutes. If you make it that far, the dreaming will commence!
God designed us to sleep and dream, but sometimes sleeping and dreaming can be elusive. When I was younger I never had any trouble falling asleep but I seem to be joining the ranks of those who are grateful for a few hours of rest in the night. There is always the next thing to think about, to accomplish, to plan, to remember. Dropping into bed is no longer a refuge of sleep but a place to make mental check lists, to debrief the day, to worry about world affairs. When light sleep revolves around ‘what ifs’ and ‘remember this’ and ‘what happens next’ the muscle relaxing stage turns into teeth clenching, deep sleep darkens and dreams become nightmares.
Perhaps that is why sleeping during our drive was so sweet and fulfilling. We were on our way to a wedding, a happy occasion! All the packing and planning was over. My husband is a great driver, I trust him completely. I was surrounded by two of my favorite people in all the world and nothing needed to be done or planned or thought about for two whole days! I have no idea why I was dreaming about someone stealing my kayak, but I awoke refreshed and happy and willing to make something coconutty for my daughter.
Psalm 4 is a favorite of mine. It reminds me to focus on God, who is my strength and salvation. When my eyes are on the good things of God, the need to worry about the evil things of this world dissipates. When Scripture is singing in my head instead of the replay of all the things I did wrong in a single day, my muscles can relax. When I take a deep breath of God’s mercy and forgiveness, deep sleep can invade my entire being. I can trust God completely, knowing He will cover me with His love. He will allow me to lie down and sleep in peace.
Earlier today my husband shared an article with me about sleep. It was written by a physician who was giving advice on what not to do before going to bed. Most of the advice revolved around not doing, watching, listening to or reading anything that created anxiety. Great advice, but I would suggest that closing each day with prayer, actively placing your trust and rest and life in the hands of the God who made you and loves you, will be even more successful in achieving a good, full night’s rest.
I found an old recipe, full of coconutty goodness for you to try. The two step process involves making a brown sugar, shortbread crust that will be topped with a coconut/pecan mixture.
Dream Bars or Coconut Pecan Bars
Crust
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup Gold Medal Flour
Heat oven to 350*. In stand mixer, blend butter and sugar. Add in flour and mix until you have a soft batter. Flatten batter in bottom on a non-greased 13 x 9″ baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the coconut pecan topping.
Coconut Pecan Topping
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 Tbsp Gold Medal flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup moist shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Mix eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add in flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in coconut and pecans. Pour, then smooth this over the paritally baked crust.
Return to oven and bake 20-25 minutes longer. Cool and cut into bars.
These bars are moist and chewy!
