Here we are again. Another Lent. Another wilderness wandering. Another start to reflecting on the world via my very sporadic writings. It seems Lent has been the time I feel most compelled to write. Perhaps because of the introspective nature of the season. Maybe it’s just the experience of taking the United Methodist Photo-A-Day challenge and turning it into a post. All I know is here we are again and here I go again.
Day 8: Awake
The alarm went off somewhere around 5:00am. My brain is still thinking it is 4:00am because we just participated in that madness of changing the clocks to save daylight or some such nonsense. A quick walk of the dog in the dark, back to get cleaned up, and I am kissing my wife goodbye as we head off to our responsibilities.
I do not always leave the house so early. Many mornings there is a chunk of time between the dog walk and leaving for the day where I sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, read/listen to my morning devotional, see what news I missed while I slept and slowly come awake. Today, I had to get to a 7:00am dentist appointment 40 minutes from my house, so easing into the day wasn’t in the cards.
Fortunately, I am a “morning person.” Even with little sleep, I tend to be “on” the moment I get out of bed. That is not to say I always jump out of bed when that alarm goes off, but once the day begins, I am ready to engage. Once I am awake, I laugh and joke and ask questions and tell stories. Over time I have learned not everyone appreciates my early morning energy though I tend to persist regardless. In fact, my Friday morning breakfast crew has told me sometimes I’m a little much to handle. Not everyone comes awake in the same way.
As I was checking out following my appointment, I glanced at the staff in the billing department. They were all pretty quiet. Like the reception folks, they had probably got to work by 6:30am, if not before. I wondered about whether they considered themselves morning people or not. Because I am who I am, I voiced my thoughts and we had a nice little discussion about how we are in the morning and why we might be that way. It turns out some are “awake,” even if they might prefer a different rhythm.
All of this has me wondering about how easy it is to wander through life looking awake while being asleep. We can put on a smile, make small talk, show up and get the job done, all while being practically disengaged. Going through the motions as it were. I’ve had seasons of life like this where I’ve just played the part I thought had been assigned to me. Moving through each day existing more than really living. This is as much a spiritual concern as a physical or emotional one, which makes sense if we understand ourselves holistically – a combination of mind, body and spirit.
The call from scripture to such as myself is simple…
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 4:14)
Going through the motions is equated with death. Sleepwalking through life is not living. We are made for so much more!
As Mumford and Sons sing in Awake My Soul,
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
And where you invest your love, you invest your life
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
And where you invest your love, you invest your life
Awake my soul
Awake my soul
Awake my soul
For you were made to meet your maker.
(listen to a fun version of the song ft. Jon Batiste here)
Meeting God? That’s a good reason to come awake!
Isn’t Lent wonderful as an opportunity to pay attention to these questions? The hygienist probably didn’t get ready this morning with the intention of drawing me to consider my mortality and how I’m living my “one wild and precious life,” but when we are awake we can see God everywhere and in everything. I sure hope to meet my Maker today and tomorrow and every day gifted to me. As I come awake, maybe I’ll get that opportunity and perhaps point another to come awake as well.
Life is better together,
Shawn
Big Rubber Band Ball 