Wake Up!

I was on highway 10 heading west from Wadena to Perham.  The white lines rhythmically called to me like the ticking of a clock in a dark bedroom, surrounded by feathered pillows, warm blankets and a sloshing waterbed from the 80’s. There isn’t much to look at on the double lane highways of central Minnesota.  The towns are bypassed with bridges and underpasses, so you don’t even have to slow down as you pass through them.  My passenger wasn’t much to talk to either.  As a soon to be freshmen in high school, my, mostly straight “A” brother, had his nose in a book. Whether he was studying or just reading for pleasure, I didn’t know, nor did I really care…nor did I have any interest in doing either one for myself. 

We were making our way to a wrestling practice.  My career was over…but for him, he was just hitting the big time of high school wrestling and needed to be ready.  Thus, I was making the 30 mile drive to take him to an open to the public practice at the Perham community center.  I didn’t want to be making the drive.  I was tired from working a full day at the construction company, likely hauling shingles while my coworkers dug through my lunch box to steal all of my cupcakes.

I was so tired in fact, that I knew I was not driving as safely as I ought to be.  The white lines continued to lull me and I struggled to keep awake.   By now, I was looking forward to getting him to his practice…and heading for the hot tub where I could sleep during the 2 hour practice. We had about 8 miles to go as we approached an overpass of the BNSF railway. It was at this time…that I fell asleep.

Praise the Lord, I woke just before the right front corner of my parents car collided with the guardrail of the overpass.  I jerked the low powered Pontiac back onto the highway and began to sweat.

My brother’s head rose up from his book…he looked at me…then went back to his reading.

I had no more trouble staying alert after that.  I was awake! Wide awake! I was fully attentive to the road and ready for the rest of the trip.  My near accident was perhaps the best wakeup call I could get for the moment.

We have all needed wakeup calls.  We need to wake up to get ready for school or work. We need wakeup calls to lead us to life change. I recall my dad giving me a verbal lashing at one time that served as a wakeup call, making me aware of how I was mistreating people.

Most of us dread our morning alarms. Yet, where would we be without them?...probably still in bed and without a job. We set reminders and alarms to tend to our everyday tasks…yet when it comes to spiritual matters…the things that matter the most…are we still in bed? 

Revelation 3:1-6, calls the church in Sardis to “wakeup.” To wake up takes effort…it takes humility…it takes discipline…and obedience.  Praise God that he is waking us up! He is getting our attention before we fly off the guardrail.  If the Lord is sounding the alarm…let’s not just hit snooze, rather…let’s wake up!  May the Lord wake us up this week…to what he has for us.