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A friend of mine with several young ones under 5 years of age shared with me her desperate need for sleep.

I understand this, I really do. I understood first hand, as a mother of a newborn, why sleep deprivation was used as a form of torture. If I had been entrusted with the combination to the lock to a nuclear bomb silo, I am certain I would have called a communist leader and offered it to him, if only he could have arranged for a sleep long enough for REM sleep to kick in.

I recall how hard it was to make a simple decision. Baby is sleeping.

• Should I shower?
• Nap?
• Make out a grocery list
  • Should I use crayon or pen to make out the list?
• Should I call my husband and ask him to pick up dinner on the way home?
• Should I tell him to get pizza or Chinese take out?
• Should I call and ask him to help me make this decision even though earlier I called to ask to ask him what I should eat for breakfast? Or was that yesterday?
• Is that the phone ringing or is the that the microwave or is the baby awake and crying?
• What am I doing wrong?

Oh, I can answer that one.....nothing. I am doing nothing wrong.

That little body in the crib has been carried in a safe, warm, wet, dark place for months, and now is adjusting to life outside the womb.

So be ok with letting the laundry pile up and the groceries sitting on the floor until tomorrow, as long as you toss the perishables into the fridge-grocery bag and all.

Love your hair in a messy bun day after day.

Turn off the phone, catch a drooling nap on the couch, and whatever else you do, do not make major decisions when you are sleep deprived. Those will wait.

Best of all, remind yourself of the good news you already know: God knows your need and He will provide for you, just as He perfectly provided the parents for the tyke, who even now, is stirring in his crib, beginning to wonder where you are.

You read that correctly.

God perfectly provided your children with the parents they need for His plans for them.

God provided you.

Let the dust pile up, let the laundry mound grow, let the sink fill up with dishes. That's not really part of God's plan right now.

At the moment, that little soul is helpless and needs someone to take care of every need he or she has.

And God choose you for that; Sleepy, hair asunder, hormones surging and ebbing in an attempt to reach balance, just a little hungry, just a little lonely, and perhaps a lot insecure. God knows what He is doing.