Why I Love/Hate To Nap

I have 2 kids - Hudson is 2 and Stella is 6.  Stella sleeps like a champ, and she has always slept like a champ.  We can walk into her room at night when she's asleep, put away clothes, and have a conversation at about 50% volume and she won't wake up.  Hudson is becoming a better sleeper but in the last six months or so, he's been waking up at around 5:00 a.m.  This, as you can imagine, after being up late catching up on things around the house or even just talking with my wife Jenny, can make for a tough morning when this little guy's first words to me are "Good sleep, daddy!" Yeah, good sleep for you at least...

 
(Photo by fotographic1980 - FreeDigitalphotos.net) 

And thus a nap is a valued commodity.

And I love to nap...but also hate to nap.

I love to nap because I am often tired when haven't gotten enough sleep the night before and I had to get up with Hudson at 5:00 a.m.  I love to nap because it means that I have no responsibilities but to nap - Jenny is in charge of the kids for that time so I just have one job: get some sleep.  And to be candid I've always loved a good nap.

But more and more I am choosing to be very selective with napping, and here is why.
I hate the idea of losing time napping when there is work to be done for the Kingdom of God.
Now I know - I KNOW - that some people are going to read that and say, "But you need to take care of yourself."  I agree, and there are times when I choose to nap because, as New Testament scholar D.A. Carson says, "Sometimes the best thing you can do is sleep."  I agree - I know there are times when the best thing for me, for my family, and for the name of Christ is for me to be more well-rested for the next challenge.  Fair enough.

(Photo by artur84 - FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

But the question of why a nap is helpful/vital/a good choice - this is a question  that must be asked.

Here's how I see it - let's do the numbers:
I am 40 now.
Let's say that I live until I am 80.
40 years left x 365 days in a year x 24 hours in a day x 60 minutes in an hour  =
___________________________________________________

21,024,000 minutes left in my life.

So what is a little nap?
Maybe it's nothing.

But let's continue with the math

Let's say I don't sleep a full 8 hour a night but instead I sleep 6 hours a night:
40 years left x 365 days in a year x 6 hours of sleep a night x 60 minutes in an hour =
___________________________________________________

5,256,000 hours of sleep in my life.

I just lost about 25% of my life left in sleeping.

Sleep is necessary - I agree and I know how I function at a higher level when I sleep well.

But can  you see why napping to me - though I enjoy it and even at times feel I need it - feels like giving up valuable time that could be used to share the Gospel, to minister to others in need, to pray, to read God's Word, and the like?

Maybe you aren't a person who often naps, or maybe you don't even like to nap.
For me, napping is often a temptation to choose the easy over the eternally important.
And as I look back in history, few of the people who made a significant impact for Christ were known to be big nappers.

And so I close this post about napping by telling you I chose to write this instead of taking a nap.
If you're reading it, I hope it proves at least one thing - using our time to bless, challenge, and encourage others might just be worth giving up a nap.

- tC