But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God.” Romans13:11
It was bedtime for Bonzo. I told someone the other day that I don’t mind dying…I just don’t want to die stupid. Let me explain. We are all going to leave this earth at one time or another. The checkout rate is 100%. And, truthfully, I’m ok with that and the reason why is my friend Jesus. I bought into what He was selling a long time ago. I read what the Bible said about Him and what He said, it made total sense, and I just believed. Like someone said, “When a guy predicts His own death and resurrection…well, you just go with it.” I went with it. But what about the stupid part?
The stupid part is when we live totally recklessly or totally fail to care for our health and we end up either very sick or very dead. Now I’m not trying to be insensitive but that is simply the truth. My Daddy and Momma both died at 62…way too early even for the 1970’s. They were both heavy smokers and that just took its toll. Daddy died of heart trouble and four years later Momma died of cancer. So, as you can imagine, I’m trying to take better care of my health so if God is ok with it, I can stick around a little longer.
Well, one of the things that they recommend you do is check for colon cancer and the way you do that is to have a medical procedure called a colonoscopy. That requires a morning check-in at the hospital and meeting lots of new friends. When I got there, and I must admit I liked this, I was the star of the show. Nurses came and showered me with attention preparing me for the procedure. Some of the attention involved needles but I was even ok with that. Before they took me back, I met a friend named Tom. Tom is the guy you really want to get to know. His job is to make sure you don’t remember a thing about the test, and he was great.
I told Tom we had a couple of things in common. He has been doing his thing at the hospital for 42 years and I have been doing the preacher thing for 41 years. We also were just about the same age. Oh, and I told him, his job is to put people to sleep and sometimes it seems that was my job too. Smile. Anyway, Tom made sure I didn’t remember a thing about the procedure, and I was very grateful. It went something like this.
They rolled me into the room. Then Tom, my new best friend, put some medicine in my arm via the IV and said, “how do you feel?” I think I remember telling him I felt a little burning sensation. That’s it…game over. The next thing I remember is I am hearing voices and I wanted to tell them not to start yet because I was still awake. Uh, what I didn’t know, of course, was that the test was over, and I was in the recovery room. Amazing. Not only did I not know when I went to sleep, or when the test started and finished, I didn’t even know they had moved me to a different room. How about that? And that, by the way, is exactly what they wanted…and I wanted.
The bottom line is all the unpleasantries of the test took place while I was sleeping and for a medical deal…that is a good deal. But what about life? I mean, I wonder how many times do we snooze and lose? You know, relationships…snooze. Family relationships…snooze. Big Adventures…snooze. Good sermons…snooze (I had to throw that one in). Great opportunities…snooze. Too often while we are snoring, the Devil is working, and we wake up to find ourselves where we had no intention of being. Sleeping plays a big and important role in our lives…but not always. Snooze at the wrong time or in the wrong place and it is, “bedtime for Bonzo.”
The Bible, in the Message paraphrase says, “But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God.” Wow…that is some great advice. And it applies to every area of every life. So, be careful to know when to sleep and when to be wide awake. Be sure to set your alarm, you know, the one that says, “I’ve got this, I’ve got this” because…He does. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 