Neither Slumbers Nor Sleeps

    When I was in kindergarten, I entered a coloring contest. I won the contest, one of the very few contests I have ever won. I won $15 and Mom and Dad let me spend $5 of it. I bought some crayons and maybe a coloring book; I remember the crayons – a package of 8, those really thick crayons. The page I colored was of Smokey the Bear and the contest was sponsored by some conservation organization.

 

    Smokey the Bear is the best known real bear. We are also familiar with that chubby, little cubby all stuffed with fluff – Winnie the Pooh. Then there’s the Paddington Bear, Yogi Bear, Baloo, Fozzie Bear.

 

    Technically speaking, bears do not hibernate. Bears in zoos, who have food available to them all the time do not go into, what scientists call, dormancy. Even if it gets really cold, they do not have to go dormant. There is little change in a bear’s body temperature, breathing, or metabolic rate. A sleeping bear can be awakened quite easily.

 

    Hibernation is, scientifically speaking, different. When animals, like bats, hedgehogs, and some squirrels hibernate, their body temperature drops to 32 degrees. Their breathing slows down considerably; their heart rate slows almost to the point it can’t be registered. If you try to awaken a hibernating animal, it would take some time, even a few hours.

 

    Bears go dormant during the winter time because food is scarce. Without a steady supply of food, a bear would have a hard time maintaining its body temperature. Bears store body fat while food is available and then live off that fat while they are dormant. In fact, bears do not defecate while dormant; their body turns the waste into protein.

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    There is one passage that deals with God in the context of sleep – Psalm 121. Consider the first few verses: “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”

 

    In contrast with bears, humans, and nearly every other living being – even plants go into a dormant state during the winter – God never goes dormant. He never has to sleep. He never has to rest. He never has to wind down.

 

    God is always present, always ready to hear, listen, and bless.

–Paul Holland

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