Lullaby and Goodnight

Have you ever noticed how life can be so hard--full of suffering, grief, stress--and so good at the same time?  I think bedtime is such a perfect analogy of this.  I absolutely love bedtime--and hate it--at our house.  Bedtime comes at that time of day where everyone is worn out.  My worn out usually means I just want to sit on the couch.  My children's worn out usually means they are either really grumpy and fussy or totally wound up and delirious.  Obviously, those two contrasting worn outs do not turn out so well when put together.  It is hard to give baths, brush teeth, change diapers, clean up the day's mess (for the tenth time), put on pajamas (that have to be found in the clean laundry pile on the couch), and pick up toys, especially when a lot of those steps come with screaming and protests from little people that want to keep playing.  But when we all finally wind down, and that familiar nighttime hush comes over the house, our family gets to enjoy some of the best moments of our life.  We get to read our favorite stories together; we get to talk about our day--good and bad--and "check-in" with each other; we get to have some quiet time set aside for reading a devotional and saying prayers for family and friends; we get to snuggle up together and maybe sing a few songs or giggle about something silly or pile on top of each other in the rocking chair for one last rock of the day.  I love bedtime. 

Recently I have found a new bedtime lullaby.  I am always looking for a good lullaby.  It seems I can never remember the words to songs, so when I find an easy one to remember my boys get to hear it for weeks on end.  You would not believe where I ran across our latest one: Pappi's Pizza Karaoke Night.  No, we do not sing Firework by Katy Perry at bedtime.  Actually, we ran across Just A Closer Walk With The in the karaoke song list.  I had not sung this hymn in a long while, and it got stuck in my head as I hummed it to recall the tune.  So I found myself singing it to my baby as we rocked before bed one night--and it has stuck in our bedtime routine since then.  Some of the lyrics I had forgotten, so I found them online and thought I would share them with you here.

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain:
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

What lullabies do you sing at your house?  I would love to have you share them here!