For as long as I can remember, I have had trouble sleeping. I've always been a night owl, so that probably plays into it a bit - but there comes a time when your body can't handle the college student hours of staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning. After college, trying to dial back my hours to be a bit more normal just did not work for me.
Wayyy too many times I would go to bed around 11 or so, and lay there forever. 2:00 would roll around, then 3:00, sometimes 4:00 and by then I'm so frustrated with the fact that I am not sleeping that it's almost impossible to sleep because I'm all worked up. Any time I had a big event for work, I could almost guarantee that this would happen. Before going on a retreat, when I would really like the most sleep to help prepare for a work trip, I would not sleep the night before. Then I would just pray that the fact that I'm so tired would make me be able to sleep the next night.
There was one period, a couple years ago that it got so bad, I really thought I was going to lose my mind. Two weeks, two really long weeks- I got maybe 1 or 2 hours of sleep a night. It was terrible. I would get so frustrated, move to the couch, try to watch TV, read, do anything to make myself get tired. And then the cycle just continued, until I got so frustrated, was basically in tears and made an appointment with my doctor. Long story short, I got little to no help, was sent home with a low-dose anti-anxiety medicine to try to help me get back on a cycle and then I was left on my own. Thank God I got through those weeks of not sleeping, but my battle with sleep was definitely not over.
That is until I met Lavender.
Having tried essential oils here and there when my mom would pass something my way, I was a little skeptical. But all of that changed when Lavender essential oil changed my sleep life. My mom had at one point passed a bottle of Young Living's Lavender Essential oil, and for awhile it just sat in my cupboard. But one night, when I was laying there in my lack of sleep I decided to look up a few remedies with essential oil. I googled "lavender essential oil for sleep" or something of the like. And praise God, I found the information that made an amazing difference in my life. 2 or 3 drops of lavender dropped into my left palm rubbed clockwise with my right hand and then rubbed on my spine, is all it took to promote restful sleep, turning me into a good sleeper.
When I say Lavender changed my life, I know that it sounds like one of those over-exaggerated statements to which you'd want to respond with an eye roll and "yeah okay". But I mean it. Sure, I still have a few nights here and there where I have a hard time falling asleep, but it has never been the same. Before Lavender, I was skeptical about the power of essential oils but now I am believer, and I'm hooked. (And Lavender is for much more than just sleep!! It's great for helping maintain a healthy life in regards to anxiety, cuts, and burns- including sunburn!) It was like my gateway drug because now I'm all about trying different oils to better my physical and emotional health.
If there's something that you're struggling with in your life, like I was with sleep, I highly encourage you to check out the amazing resource in essential oils. If there's any way that I can encourage you or help you learn more about what they could do for you, please don't hesitate to contact me. I am very much still learning but love being able to share what I know, in hopes that I might be able to help others get connected to this amazing blessing that the Lord has given us.
xo