Parenting : God's Ferberization

An observation I (Krisha) made several months ago is that my relationship with my son is analogous to my relationship as God's child. I remember the age when Chase started sleeping through the night. I had debated on whether the "cry method" (aka Ferberization) actually made sense or just sounded cruel. Books esteemed it as the sleep method in which you allow your child to cry for a specific amount of time before you respond. This is supposed to allow your child to learn to settle himself although I had heard that in some cases, your child could grow to distrust that the parent will meet his needs.

Chase has actually done really well with the sleep boundaries we've set. If he cried for an extended amount of time I would go in, check his diaper, make sure there was no obvious discomfort and put him back down. I aimed to meet his basic needs while still hoping that he would learn to settle himself. Once he did, it proved very helpful in measuring his cries. I could gage whether his cries were simply "I don't wanna go to sleep mommy" or "something is terribly wrong! Could it be my diaper!?" All in all, Chase is a success story to my variation of the sleep method.

Myself, however... I am a different story. I feel like lately.... no... that is an understatement... for the past 7 months or so, God has used the cry method with me. I am at that stage (eyes rubbed red, puddled in my own drool, pained by my inability to escape His confines, arms outstretched, and countenance distressed that no one is coming to scoop me up out of my misery). How long O Lord?! How long?!

It's amazing that my child still smiles at me each morning when I wake him up, even if I let him whine a little before falling asleep. If only I could trust that God's mercies are new each morning... I have a lot to learn from Chase.


Psalm 28
"To You I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if You remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place." (Psalm 28:1-2)