Awake

I’m sure you know a lot of people that have trouble sleeping.  I recall listening to my friends’ stories about the many hours they lie wide awake during the dark of night.  I was always ready with my wise advice on some strategies to take; but little did I know it all finally caught up with me.  Since a recent downsizing and move I find there are some nights that I should be taking my own “wise” advice.  But last night was one of those nights that nothing worked – my mind would not rest.  You ask what did I have on my mind?  Words!  Words that I should use to share with you and many others.  And with a word, many times, until I start writing, I have no idea why God is speaking those words to my waiting fingertips or should I say heavy eyelids.  What do you think about when you lie awake at night?  Do you pray or are you thinking about the many worries that rest heavily on your mind?  I silently remind myself, “Can you do anything about this now?” and I answer (again to myself) “No.”  “Then go to sleep.”  Obviously, our rest is very important to our health, but there are so many times, both in the stillness of the night and during our busy day that we need to be awake for Jesus’ return.  Being awake means in this case, being aware of our actions, our words, and the importance we put on earthly choices.  You and I need to be awake to the needs of those around us, to the harshness of our words towards others and be ready to ask for forgiveness when we fail.  It reminds me of the parable of the ten virgins in the book of Mark, that each of us always needs to be prepared and not caught off guard.  A good way to stay awake is to practice reviewing at the end of our day what we did to keep our lamps lit and where did we fail to fill our lanterns with oil, to light our way towards Him.   This week let’s focus on staying awake by being more aware of our daily actions and thoughts, knowing that, without notice, Jesus will return.  That should calm all our fears, so that we can rest peacefully every night.

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out’ … “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:7-8,13