“Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.”
Anna sang as she rocked her firstborn to sleep. It was her most cherished time of the day. As she sang, something struck her. This famous lullaby caused her to question its origin and meaning. She never thought it would take her on such a quest.
She softly spoke, “What is a bough? Why did it break? Why in a treetop? Lord, is there something to be discovered here? Show me.”
During naptime the next day, she did some research and found out that “Rock-a-bye Baby” was thought to be the first poem written on American soil sometime during the 1500’s. “Interesting.”, she thought.
The story is that an American pilgrim came upon an Indian mother and observed how this woman had suspended her baby in a birch cradle from the limbs of a tree. The idea was that the wind would lull the baby to sleep. However, with any tree branch, the “bough” would sometimes break and the baby would fall – “cradle and all”.
Anna was taken by this story and thought, “Wow. There is something in this. Please, Lord, show me what it is.”
Very long weeks went by – it felt like months. Nothing was revealed to her, but she persevered in her pursuit. She continued to sing this song to her child every night. It was the only melody that seemed to soothe her colicky baby. But, night after night, nothing happened…….
Until the night He decided to sing to her.
The evening started pretty uneventful, with the normal routine of dinner, dishes, bath and bedtime. She always knew that the Lord sometimes chooses unusual ways to illustrate His love.
She will never forget this one.
As she finished the lullaby, she noticed her sweet baby was sound asleep. The moonlight came through the window and lit up her child’s face like a porcelain doll. She could sit in the rocker for hours, just staring at him. “Perfection”, she thought.
She fell asleep in the rocking chair, never wanting to let go.
It was the singing that woke her up. As clear as her own voice, she heard the melody of the lullaby in her mind, but this time the words were different:
Rock-a-bye baby, in my embrace,
Let My breath forever touch your sweet face,
When this fallen world entangles your heart,
Know My presence is with you. It will never depart.
The presence in the room was overwhelming. It made her feel like a child again……a completely secure, protected and loved child.
By the time the song was over, she found herself drenched with tears. Her Father had chosen to sing His love over her. Just as she sang to her child.
“I am Your daughter, Lord…..and you are my Father. My perfect Father. Somehow I had forgotten that. Thank you for reminding me.”, she thought.
She put her baby in the crib, crawled into bed and fell asleep humming the lullaby to herself.
…….My presence is with you. It will never depart.
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