Looks like it’s becoming a weekly event. Last week I posted about a 3AM conversation that I wasn’t looking for. This week it was a 4AM shoulder tap. At least I got in one more snoozing hour this time.

This tap was a legit conversation starter. No dream prompt. More like, “You know that nudge you felt today when you said you hated something? Let’s talk about that.”

We talked. I received insight on the nudge, a view that was new and potentially life-giving. I shared it with a few buddies by text a few hours later and moved on. Sorta.

On my run, I thought about this whole early morning “let’s talk” thing. Rather than only view it from a standpoint of inconvenience, I asked myself how else to view it. Two answers emerged.

The first answer had to do with brain activity while we sleep. More than once, I’ve read about one thing the brain does while we sleep is store memories. In an article “Slumber Reruns: As We Sleep, Our Brains Rehash the Day,”  Nikhil Swaminathan wrote:

Your brain doesn’t take a rest when you do. While you slept last night, regions of your brain may well have been going over the events of the previous day in a process that could be related to consolidating memories, a team of researchers at the University of Arizona (U.A.) in Tucson says. In fact, the review may be taking place at several times the speed by which the experiences took place when you were alert.

November 19, 2007

In an earlier article from 2003, Sarah Graham wrote that the brain “organizes and stows memories formed during the day while the rest of the body is catching zzz’s.”

These thoughts gave me the imagery of the Holy Spirit pausing my brain’s organizing task to say, “Hold on. Can we talk about this one before it’s filed away?”

Which led me to answer #2.

If there’s one thing I value most about God’s relationship with his children it’s his 24/7 access. And aren’t we spoiled? We love it. No other relationship offers it. But somehow, we can get put off when he wants to start a conversation, and “Now’s not a good time.” That whole “Let it go to voicemail” response shouldn’t apply to this relationship.

Now that’s an awareness. It’s a corrective viewpoint that could be stated, “When I have unlimited access, who am I not to reciprocate?”

Hopefully, if this trend continues, my responses will be less about me and more about us. My brain is just doing it’s job, and shoulder taps are welcomed anytime.

Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash