To be honest, it's annoying...

"They woke me up again!"

I groaned, looking at my watch on yet another Saturday morning. "Who on earth makes noise this early?" A glance out the window confirmed my suspicion... my neighbor.

I don't know how you live, friend, but I've always been somehow surrounded by noise, especially in the apartment where I used to live. And when you regularly get woken up uninvited, especially at a time when sleep is already too short, your reaction can become quite unchristian, right? 

You know, getting upset doesn't do any good, because most of the time, you end up missing an unexpected blessing!

I've made it a habit to do good for people, especially when they annoy me. This isn't just a shield against frowns and gray hairs, haha, it's even a very biblical principle:

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21 NIV) 

So, every time the neighbors, or their kids, made so much noise that I fell out of bed far too early, I went to the bakery, not just buying the cheapest but the finest pastries—which I would wish for myself—and gifted them.

And you know what, friend? Over time, a relationship naturally developed where we could openly say, "Hey, could you please be a bit more considerate? I'm really tired."

And automatically, on my unplanned walk to the bakery, I had time to pray. Most of the time, my prayer was: "Lord, I'm really tired. But I know You can grant me more strength and rest than 10 hours of sleep could. Give my body and mind that heavenly rest and strength for today, and let me be a blessing. Amen."

And you know what, friend? God can really do that!

Give it a try too—and be a blessing, even when they steal valuable hours of your sleep!

You are a miracle!