Have you ever been to a fancy hotel?  You know, the kind where they leave mints on your pillow.  I don't think I have, but that's okay.  I'm not a fancy hotel kind of girl.  Frankly, I'd rather stay in a cabin in the woods, but maybe that's just me.  Besides, it's probably a good thing that I don't crave that kind of hotel stay because I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford it.

I did, however, go to bed with "ments" on my pillow last night, but let me tell you, they were not the kind of mints one desires, and they did not leave a pleasant taste in my mouth.  No, I'm afraid the "ments" on my pillow were discouragement, discontentment and disagreement.  You know how it is, you fall into bed at the end of the long day.  You're exhausted.  You crave sleep like Cookie Monster craves chocolate chips.  But the minute your head hits the pillows, you're assaulted with a million thoughts, most of them negative.

For me, it was discontentment over the leaky roof that had consumed much of our time, energy and patience over the weekend.  It was discouragement over the aches and pains of my body that haven't given me a moment's peace for months.  It was disagreement with God over the definition of "good" because at that point in time, I didn't see any of these things working out for my good like He promised they would in Romans 8:28.

Guess what!  After sucking on those "ments" all that time before finally drifting off to sleep, I awoke this morning to an exhausted body and a weary spirit.  It turns out that these "ments" don't dissolve when you suck on them; they grow.  The more time we spend with them, the bigger they become.  The more we think about them and dwell on them, the more of our time and energy they eat up.  And let me tell you, unlike other mints, these turn sour rather quickly.

So, how do we avoid the "ments" on our pillows?  How do we overcome the discouragement, discontentment and disagreements in our lives?  Well, first off, we can't ignore them and hope they'll go away.  Trust me, that doesn't work.  We must deal with them but through the strength and grace of God.  We must take them to God, just as we would any other burden, and explain that they are too heavy for us to bear.  Then, with all sincerity and commitment, we must give them over to Him and walk away.  Yep, I'm quoting Elsa from Frozen again, "Let it go, let it go!"

Seriously, we will all face discouragement, discontentment and disagreements from time to time.  Often, we may face them all at once, and the result can be overwhelming.  But the fact is that we don't have to suck on those "ments."  Acknowledge them, and then let them go.  Hand them over the One who can actually do something about them.  And then, maybe we can get the peaceful sleep we so deeply desire.

As soon as you have the chance, make yourself a note and leave it on your pillow.  When you go to bed tonight, you'll have a written reminder to cast your burdens on the Lord before crawling under the covers and attempting to sleep.  What should the note say?  That's up to you, but I'll tell you what mine says: "Hold the ments, please!"

I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. - Psalm 3:5