During recent babysitting gigs with Emerald, she’s refused to take a nap. Despite my following the same pre-bed routine as her mommy, she clings to me, refusing her bottle and wailing about going into her crib. Though I’ve let her “cry it out” for as long as 25 minutes, she just doesn’t settle.

So today I decided to do things differently. After putting her in the crib amidst loud objections on her part, I put myself on the twin bed nearby and said, “Shhh…. Grandma’s going night-night. Shhh….”

When that didn’t work, I pulled her crib right next to me, reaching through the bars to pat her back. “Night night, Emerald. Grandma’s going to sleep, too. Shhhh….” But nap time was still a no-go.

Most grandmas are wimps when it comes to being strict with a grandbaby, and I’m no exception. I pulled her out of her crib and said, “Let’s go night-night in grandma’s bed then, ok?”

Her crying stopped, and she quickly cuddled up to me, pointing out (and poking into) my eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, and hair. It wasn’t long, though, before she put her head on the bed and was fast asleep. While I worked to gently extract her fingers from my tangled hair (without waking her), I watched her sleep, a spiritual experience if there ever was one.

But then it was time to inch off the bed and leave the room, but how could I be sure she wouldn’t fall off as she slept?

I spent the next 20 minutes building a fence around her, tip-toeing in with a row of dining room chairs, followed by more chairs to make sure the first chairs wouldn’t slide. I put pillows between her head and the stucco walls and then stood back to assess my work. It still wasn’t good enough. The only sure thing was to stay in the room, watching over her until she woke up.

It occurred to me that while I was watching over Emerald, God was watching over both of us, not just during that 2 hour nap time but always. He remains at his “guard post” 24/7, not so much to prevent adversity or keep us 100% safe but to maintain a level of control over what happens to us. He may allow trouble to come but will only let it go “so far.”

This afternoon while on guard duty, I watched Emerald move in her sleep, rolling onto different sides, fumbling for her pacifier with eyes closed, stretching out on her back. She rolled near the edge of the bed once, but I was right there, in case she fell. Yet she had no awareness of the security I was providing by being in the room.

Sometimes we’re unaware of God’s protection, too, despite him having told us he’s always watching. But on those days when we believe he’s there, it makes all the difference in the world.

“The ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.” (Proverbs 5:21)