LITTLE PILLOWS

One of my special treasures is a 4"x6" clothbound book that was given as a get-well gift to my great-grandmother, Mrs. Fannie Dixon, by her Methodist Women's Missionary Society.  Tucked inside the book is the little enclosure card they sent her and the book is marked in pencil to have cost 25 cents.  The page with the copyright is missing, but the first printing of Little Pillows was in 1875.  The book pages are brown, but the truth rings clear.  It was written by Frances Ridley Havergal, who lived in England during the 1800's.  Miss Havergal was a poet and hymn writer and if you've ever sung "Take My Life and Let It Be"...you've enjoyed Miss Havergal's verses.  Little Pillows is a devotional book based on the premise that God's words are like little pillows that allow us to rest and sleep at night.  The book was written to use with little ones at bedtime, but it applies to all.

The book makes me think about two things...how blessed I am to have had a godly heritage, and the comparable need for a little pillow for great-grandmother's generation as compared to my generation.  Then I stress about the need for comfort in my grandchildren's generation as people get less civil.  I sure don't like going there. 

When I was growing up, my little brother Tim and I had a dog named Taffy.  She was butterscotch-colored and was no particular breed; she was just a smiley dog with an enthusiastic tail that whipped your legs when you wore summer shorts.  When Taffy went to bed at night, she circled her bed about three times before coming in for a landing.  As I get older, I increasingly anticipate putting my head on the pillow at night.  And I, too, have a little ritual to help me get ready.  

I slide into the cool sheets and lay on my best side...that's the right side.  I extend the right leg straight and assume the "herron position" as the left leg bends at the knee.  Then I exhale deeply and close my eyes and start the video running of my day.  I'm looking to pick out the favorite thing that I can thank the Lord for that He has sent me during the day.  It may be something as simple as an expression on someone's face...or an unexpected answer to a prayer...or a big ole blessing that I can trace right back to the Father's hand.  Some nights the video runs longer than others.  But it just is helpful to end the day with gratitude to the Giver of all good gifts.

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow." James 1:17