By Joe Pisani
My sister is suffering from insomnia. For that matter, so are my daughters, my wife and the dog. That must be what all the tossing and turning at night is about.
I should confess that I suffer from insomnia too, along with 70 million other Americans. I get to sleep almost immediately and sleep for three to four hours … until the dog is standing beside the bed, grunting because she wants me to get up and get her a treat or play fetch at 1:45 in the morning. Her internal clock is better than a Swiss watch.
At a recent family get-together, everyone was grumbling about their sleeping problems. One person was starting to take melatonin. Another who is herbal-minded has a nightcap of chamomile tea, although a martini might do a better job. Another uses a white noise app on her cellphone that sounds like an Electrolux vacuum cleaner that has been left on all night. From medication to warm milk, the list of remedies is a long one, but it doesn’t seem particularly promising.
There’s a national epidemic of insomnia, and I have a theory, crazy perhaps, but I believe God is trying to get our attention. God is trying to cut through all the distractions the only way he can and at the best time he can, when there’s no noise, no television and no social media — although to be sure, some people are texting all night long.
I finally said to my daughters: “I have a suggestion. Have you tried talking to God while you’re lying awake? And have you ever tried listening to what he has to say?”
There were blank stares all around. “Because he’s talking to you,” I added. More blank stares. A collection of blank stares, until someone changed the subject to “Isn’t it great we don’t have to wear masks anymore?”
There is a tsunami of distractions in our lives — social media, text messaging, Twitter, TV, political arguments, screaming headlines, news 24 hours a day, family squabbles, arguments at work, health issues, money problems … should I continue?
Here’s my unorthodox theological interpretation of this national crisis. God wants our attention, and the only time he can cut through all the noise is at night during the quiet hours when we lie awake staring into the darkness.
Stop stressing out about your promotion, your raise, your likes on Instagram, your car payments, your kid getting into Yale, your future. Get out of the driver’s seat. Let go and let God.
There’s a lot God has to tell us and most of us aren’t listening.
Do you remember the Bible story about the boy Samuel and the priest Eli? Samuel was asleep when he heard someone say, “Samuel! Samuel!” And so he went to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” Eli said, “I didn’t call you, my son.”
This happened three times, and then Eli realized it was the Lord calling the boy, and he told him, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’”
The Lord often talks to us in the quiet of night when we’re not immersed in the daily hubbub of life. It’s often the only opportunity for quality time with us that he has. Staring into the silence, you’ll find your answers.
In his book, “The Power of Silence,” Robert Cardinal Sarah, said, “Without silence, God disappears in the noise. And this noise becomes all the more obsessive because God is absent. Unless the world rediscovers silence, it is lost. The earth then rushes into nothingness.”
So here’s my suggestion to all you insomniacs When you’re lying awake at 2 in the morning, staring at the ceiling and worrying about a thousand different things, ask Jesus to hold you in his peaceful and loving embrace.
Ask him, “What do you want from me, Lord?” Invite him, “Please lead me where you want me to go.” Tell him what troubles you. Tell him what worries you. He’s always listening. We’re the ones who aren’t.
Then, listen. In the silence, you’ll get the answers you’re looking for, along with answers you don’t even know you’re looking for. (Plus, it’s always a good idea to have your rosary in hand so you can pray a few decades.)
There’s a fundamental principle of the spiritual life. To grow in holiness we have to spend time with God in silence. The world doesn’t offer that silence, but in the still hours of night, when God sees his opportunity, he seizes it.
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.