The Cozy Nook

When the sun went down, the shepherd counted his sheep. One, two, three — all the way to the end. He knew every one of them by name.

The little ones stayed close. The old ones found the soft grass. And when one wandered off behind the rocks, the shepherd went and found her, and carried her home on his shoulders.

He did not count to see how many he had. He counted to see that none were missing.

God knows your name too. Tonight you are counted, and you are not missing. Sleep well.

It rained for a long time. Inside the big boat it was dry and warm, and very noisy — two of every animal, and Noah’s whole family, all in one floating house.

Then one morning it was quiet. Noah opened the window. A dove came back with a green leaf in her beak, and everyone knew: somewhere out there, something was growing again.

When they came out, God painted a rainbow across the sky. It was a promise, and promises are for keeping.

The rain always stops. Rest now.

A mother made a little basket and rubbed it with tar so the water could not get in. She laid her baby inside and set it down among the tall reeds at the edge of the river.

His big sister Miriam stood in the grass and watched. She did not go away. She stayed, and she watched, and she waited.

A princess came to the river, heard a small cry, and lifted him out. She called him Moses, which means drawn out of the water.

Somebody is always watching over you. Close your eyes.

Daniel prayed three times a day, by his window, where anyone could see. Some men did not like it, and they had him put down among the lions for the night.

The king could not sleep at all. He would not eat. He sat up until the sky went grey.

At first light he ran to the den and called out. And Daniel answered him — God had sent an angel, and the lions had stayed quiet all night long.

God is awake while you are sleeping. Goodnight.

The wind came down hard on the lake and the waves came over the side of the boat. The men who had fished there all their lives were frightened.

Jesus was asleep at the back, on a cushion. They woke him and said, do you not care that we are going down?

He stood up and said three words to the storm: Peace, be still. And the wind stopped. The water went flat and quiet, like a floor.

The same voice that calmed the water is watching your room tonight. Be still.

Go outside on a clear night and look up. There are more stars than you could count if you counted all night, and all the next night, and all the night after that.

God made every one of them. And he did not just make them — he named them. Every single one.

If he took that much care over a star, think how much care he takes over you.

Now let him keep watch. Sleep.