In the first few years of my son’s life, I spent a lot of time kneeling beside his bed. Every night, he was reluctant to visit the Land of Nod, so I’d spend hours reading books, singing songs and praying that he would just sleep…

One night as I came to the end of my hour-long lullaby medley, he finally laid still, yawned and shut his eyelids. With a heart full of hope, a mind full of to-dos and a throat screaming for water, I started to tip-toe out of his room… when suddenly a voice cried out: “Mommy! Dinosaur!”

My heart sank. I took a deep breath, turned around, and surveyed the dark room for any remnant of a prehistoric creature. Thanks to the guidance of a small index finger, I found the source of Winston’s sleep-preventing culprit. Behind his curtain, beamed a small dinosaur skeleton.

Not sure whether to cry or laugh, I presented the ‘light source’ to my two year-old. What came out of my mouth next absolutely baffled me.
“Aww sweetie, it’s a glow in the dark dinosaur! This dinosaur is able to be so bright at night because during the day it stored up light energy from the sun. The energy inside the dinosaur then becomes light at night when it’s dark.”

“But the light will run out so the dinosaur needs to be recharged by the sun every day in order to shine for you every night.”

I continued on.

“In the same way, we need to read and store up God’s Word in us because it’s His energy and power. Only then can we bring His light to the darkness and shine forth.”

I don’t know how much of my poor explanation of Physics 101 and its corresponding theological metaphor was understood by my toddler, but it was one of those ‘teachable moments’ that I am thankful God didn’t let slip by.Really, it was a greater reminder for myself to be recharged by God every day- so that I may have His love, wisdom and patience to parent my child.

So as he laid there, hands clasping the glow in the dark dino, I started the lullaby medley again. From the top…