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By Mikayla Kayne

Bedtime was miserable tonight. My four year old was in full fit-mode at every turn. If you’re a parent, you know that bedtime is not optional. It happens every night, without fail, regardless of tantrum or debate. Bedtime happens because sleep is critical, because tomorrow comes, and with it, the promise of a new and better day. My little guy has pre-school in the morning, which I know he loves, but tonight every step of the bedtime routine was just too much for him, and the drama was on high. Usually, I give in and help him, but tonight, as he whined and cried with every step, I began to see myself in him, and God used my son to teach me a lesson I’ve been struggling to learn.

God drew an analogy for me between bedtime and His will. Bedtime was inevitable for my son tonight. Maybe someone else’s child could win that fight and get to stay up until three a.m. or sleep in their clothes, or skip tooth-brushing – but in our house there’s a process that makes for a restful night’s sleep and healthy bodies, and he wasn’t going to skip it.

I’m God’s child, and His will for me is inevitable, and part of His will involves a process that makes His plan for me unfold with joy and peace, wisdom and power, and I don’t get to skip that process. Often I’m weary, or crabby, or willful, and I don’t want to participate in His process. I begrudgingly obey, knowing ultimately that God’s will for me is good, but I get frustrated with the process.  Like tomorrow, His will is also inevitable in my life (at least for the purpose of this analogy), and my attitude about the process to get there has a direct impact on how it will play out. I can cause delays, anxiety, even misery if my attitude is foul, and even if through it I’m remaining obedient, I’m not enjoying what should be a time of sweet intimacy and excitement while God equips me for the next level, the new day ahead. God in His mercy puts up with me, like I put up with my little guy tonight, but there was a point when I did have to threaten to keep him home from school to motivate him to obey. God is the ultimate Father, and will chasten us also. I may still be struggling to learn how to control my attitude, but I thank God that I’ve learned the value of obedience.

Now that the house is quiet and bedtime has come and gone, I can tell you, my son did obey. He’s not sleeping naked on the bathroom floor, and he got plenty of hugs and kisses before passing out, but the process was excruciating, took a good forty minutes longer than normal, and in the morning, he’s going to be a bear to wake up for pre-school.

If God is your Father, His will for you is inevitable, and part of His will involves a process that might be uncomfortable for you too. Remember, we don’t get to skip the process, and the less we struggle, the faster tomorrow will come – the fullness of His will – that we surely don’t want to miss.

Mikayla Kayne

Mikayla Kayne enjoys writing, speaking, and performing with her husband Gregory. She spent fifteen years in marketing and advertising before choosing to be a stay at home mom and discovered her love of writing and teaching.

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The Angel Crest Deception is the Kayne’s first novel, now available at all online and 

major retailers. This edgy near-future conspiracy thriller follows agnostic media producer Chris Malone as he sets out to destroy the career of a pompous religious figurehead. Will he be able to deliver the scathing exposé or will he get sucked in by the secret world-shaping group that just bought his old network?