TIME TO WAKE UP
The hotel fire siren resurrected us from our dead-tired slumber.
Every cell in our bodies was activated and pulsating like the screaming red light in the corner.
We groped like zombies through the unfamiliar darkness to find our rumpled, discarded travel clothes - fitting attire for a five alarm fire in the middle of an off-ramp cornfield.
Then, the strangest thing happened in that standard double room about to go up in smoke.
We could not find the door.
Like pinballs, we ricocheted from corner to corner in the blackness, my stocking feet right on the heels of my husband’s bare ones.
Common sense lay buried somewhere under heavy lids and thrown-off sheets as the route to escape eluded us - just like the light switch.
Had the alarm rang true that night, it would have signaled our demise.
Thankfully, Grace stepped in and it only served as a divine drill to teach us that as Christ’s followers, we are to remain ever vigilant on our journey.
For God instructs His children of the Day to stay alert and sober-minded, although we are often lulled to spiritual sleep by our own full bellies.
Like rebellious teens, we incessantly hit the snooze button until we feel the flames licking at our feet, with hazy disregard for slumbering souls just beyond adjoining walls.
Though our stay in this establishment is temporary, we still have a responsibility to not be caught unaware by perilous circumstances and to train our eyes on the source of Light within our reach.
We are not called to stumble around in the dark, but to always be prepared to make our way to safety and lead fellow travelers lovingly and calmly to their salvation as well.
All across our nation, a new cry seems to sound each night, awakening us to human despair and confusion that threatens to overtake us.
Let us always be prepared to light the way.
For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
I Thessalonians 5:5-6