Today I think my son saw a ghost.

Today something very strange happened. My son took a nap. OK, while my son doesn't take too many naps anymore, the fact that he took a nap is not the strange event. It is what happened while he took a nap. You see, I was thoroughly enjoying myself, drinking a cup of coffee, really soaking in the fact that the house was quiet and I wasn't working (yes, all of those things happening at once is strange- but that still isn't the strange part I want to tell you about). My son had a stuffy nose so I wasn't surprised when he started making noises in his sleep. He still likes to suck his thumb and becomes very grouchy (like an angry Incredible Hulk grouchy) when he can't suck his thumb because he has to breath with his mouth open. We have been woken up many nights with a terrible scream to attest to this frustration. These screams start with a tiny squeak and then slowly grow louder, soon becoming a deafening roar that must wake the neighbors too. I waited for these noises to disturb MY quiet time and grow to the piercing screech I was so used to hearing. The noises did grow but they soon became a laugh. The laugh went on to become an actual cackle. What??? I knew he was asleep because I had just looked in on him, so I couldn't understand what was going on in his room. I checked the usual suspects: two dogs downstairs (check), cat with me (check), guinea pigs still in their cage (thank goodness-check), water frog still swimming (check). These outburst continued for about another 10 minutes; I finally couldn't stand the suspense anymore and decided to risk waking him. I had to find out what was making him laugh so hard. I walked in his room and saw him looking in his open closet with a very satisfied smile on his face. He was intently watching his closet- that didn't make sense! I slowly walked around the closet door and looked inside to find... nothing. He was just staring at it, clearly captivated by something. He doesn't have a TV in his room, so what was it? Let me tell you this was very strange and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He was certainly watching something! My first thought was night terrors, but he wasn't upset. What is going on? If it wasn't a night terror was it a nap hysterical (OK, I've not actually heard of such a thing but I did come up with a pretty good name for it don't you think)? When I called his name he tried to stand up and fell flat on his face. I called his name again and he fell flat on his face- again. He was obviously still asleep. Finally, he seemed to recognize me and then had a look of panic on his face. Believe me, it was a look that any parent would recognize. I simply asked him if he had to go to the bathroom and he nodded yes. Then he just stood there. Even though it seemed self-evident to me, I decided to prompt him with "well, then you had better go". He slowly woke up as he went into the bathroom. When he once again could focus his eyes on me, I asked him if he knew what he was laughing at and he said "no". I then asked him if he knew that he was laughing and he said "no". He then picked up a blanket off the floor and went back to bed. I really have no idea what he saw in his closet and realize it probably was not a ghost masquerading as a stand up comedian; I'm assuming he was dreaming. However, whatever it was made him happy. This strange episode caused me to remember my friend, Tilla Willomen, who took me under her care in college. She was about 80 years old when I knew her and she had had a lifetime to fall in love with the Lord. She once told me that she saw real, live angles in the clouds one day. At the time I dismissed the idea, but now I realize that it was not for me to judge. Life is truly hard and it is sometime difficult to believe that God really does care about the everyday problems. Let's be honest, we have all become cynical about the fact that God will show Himself to us. Let me share something with you. I have a friend who lives 700 miles away but inevitably whenever I cry out to God (literally in tears) that I need a friend she will call within hours. No one can convince me that God didn't hear my prayer and He gave her the urge to call me. I wonder how many other things God has done to show His love to me just today that I dismissed as a coincidence. I want all of you to know that I am saying this with PASSION: God cares about even the little things in your life. God will act and prove to you that He loves you. I really don't know what my son saw and I'm not convinced it was an angel sent to amuse him- but you never know. What I do know is that we are to have faith like a child. I am asking that for just one day you suspend your adult cynicism and really look for God to show you how much He loves you. He will show you when you have faith. I hope you find your angel sent to make you laugh today.