Lucky no more, blessed always

By James Washington

Special to the Outlook from NNPA

I have to say I’ve been feeling pretty lucky lately and, not necessarily from a financial, physical or even an emotional point of view. When I look at my life from a worldly perspective now, it can sometimes still appear stacked against me. Life happens and well, you know the rest. These days my spiritual resolve kicks in, if I’m fortunate, and I keep coming back to this one thing. It’s not about luck anymore. I’m blessed because there are not enough hours in the day to say thank you to the Almighty for that simple transformation of thought. I’m blessed because from where I sit and I could be wrong about this but, I don’t think I missed my wake up call from God. I confess. It was a long time coming but instead of pushing the snooze button, I got my behind out of bed and started paying attention to God’s agenda rather than my own. Think about it. That’s a question anybody should ask of oneself. Have I missed God’s wake up call? All I can say is did you call the front desk and ask/pray for one? My bible is full of not yet saints and prophets who, when called, tried their very best to sleep through it, ignore it or pretend the call was for someone else. Most just denied it. What about you? Remember in the bible God simply played past the “you talking to me?” He gave marching orders and that was it. Hello Moses. At times He even lets you think you know more than He does. Say what Jonah? Even when you doubt what God is saying, He still, with appropriate consequences, rings your phone again. How ‘bout that Zechariah?

Imagine missing your wake up call from God and never getting another one. Like I said, I’m feeling pretty blessed today. I would have loved to have seen the look on my mother’s face to hear me say I’m saved. The following conversations would have been the stuff dreams are made of. There are people who have been a part of your life who are or would roll over in their graves to hear that about you. Can you say Holy Ghost party?

I know this for a certainty because I believe I woke up on the last ring of my last wake up call. I could be wrong, but everything A.S. (after saved) is more optimistic for me. I find myself ridiculously giddy with the reality that God said, ‘ring him up one last time.’ It gives my every waking moment and inevitable death new meaning. You know when you miss your wake up call, it has a tendency to ruin your whole day. I kinda think if you miss God’s wake up call, it has a tendency to ruin your whole life and the next one and the one after that. I’m sure there is someone reading this that knows the feeling of just getting in under the wire; either catching a plane, making an important meeting or beating the bill collector minutes before everything gets turned off. The negative anticipation is replaced with relieved enthusiasm because you made it in the nick of time. Whew, thank God I made it. I may yet not get to heaven, but I can at least say I know the way. That’s worth shouting about. The bible counts it all joy. Life and death look a whole lot different to me now. Actually, they’re both the same to some extent. God is in both worlds. And it’s pretty nice to recognize and follow Him in this one.

Have a nice day and may God bless and keep you always,

James,

jaws@dallasweekly.com