Wake Up!

So sorry for the sudden influx of entries... I just have a lot to share. Don't get too used to it.

So, this post is a devotional that I wrote as requested by my aunt for a mission trip devo book. Let me know what you think... I really enjoyed writing it. I think I want to try to do this more often :) I also rarely write serious things, so I thought you (my 3 faithful readers) might appreciate it.

Wake up!!!

As you go throughout your days, do you ever find yourself in a dazed stupor of endless routines, never-ending deadlines, or unfulfilling relationships? I think at some point, we have all found ourselves in circumstances in life we weren’t necessarily thrilled about. So many times I catch myself thinking, “I just have to get through today.” How do we let ourselves get to the point where our days become just about “getting through”?

In chapter 5 of Ephesians Paul speaks clearly and boldly about this issue. In verses 14-16 he writes, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light. Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. ” (Amplified Bible)

He is essentially saying, “Snap out of it! Don’t watch your life pass you by. Use the days God gives you wisely and purposefully! Pay attention and make the most of every moment you’re given!”

I am at a point in my life where I often hear myself saying, “just get through it.” I have found myself halfway across the world working at a job I don’t consider myself really good at. However, every day God is slowly revealing the reasons why I’m here if I can open my eyes wide enough to see.

I have a special needs student in one of my pre-K classes. The first couple days I met him were spent with him crying in a corner and running out of the room because he was terrified of me. When he finally began to be able to bear the sight of me, he still couldn’t seem to participate in my class the way the other kids could. While the other children drew pictures of airplanes, all he did was write hundreds of numbers all over his paper. As embarrassing as this is to admit, I had altogether given up on teaching this child, and I spent my class times focusing on the children who could learn “normally.” Last week, we were coloring a “shape house” that had very specific directions as to what color each shape was to be colored. My 4-year-old ESL students had a really hard time with this, so I was walking around the room responding to the sounds of “Teacher! Teacher!” As I approached the desk of my special needs student, my heart nearly stopped. There he was meticulously and ever so carefully coloring the shapes the exact colors I had specified. I was so ashamed and so quickly humbled looking at the gently colored red circles and blue squares. I had become so set in “just getting through” that I was missing so much! God was calling, “wake up, Ashley! Can’t you see I am at work here?”

Don’t let yourself go through life so dazed that you can’t pay attention to the details God is so carefully laying before your eyes! He has created each day purposefully and designed it specifically for you! How amazing is that to think about?

What vital details in life are you missing by just “getting through”? Ask God to give you clear eyes and an open mind and heart as you go throughout your day today. Ask Him to help you live your life purposefully, truly making the most of your time serving Him.