I have to say Iโ€™ve been feeling pretty lucky lately, and not necessarily from a financial, physical, or even emotional point of view. When I look at my life from a worldly perspective now, it can sometimes still be against me. Life happens, appears stacked, and well, you know the rest.

These days, my spiritual resolve kicks in, if Iโ€™m fortunate, and I keep returning to this one thing. Itโ€™s not about luck anymore. Iโ€™m blessed because there are not enough hours in the day to thank the Almighty for that simple transformation of thought. Iโ€™m blessed because from where I sit, and I could be wrong about this, but I donโ€™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 Godโ€™s agenda rather than my own. Think about it. Thatโ€™s a question anybody should ask themselves. Have I missed Godโ€™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, ignore it, to sleep through or pretend the call was for someone else. Most just denied it. What about you? Remember in the bible, God played past the โ€œyou talking to me?โ€ He gave marching orders, and that was it. Hello Moses. Sometimes, 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 โ€˜bout that Zechariah?

Imagine missing your wake-up call from God and never getting another one. Like I said, Iโ€™m feeling pretty blessed today. I would have loved to have seen the look on my motherโ€™s face to hear me say Iโ€™m saved. The following conversations would have been the stuff dreams are made of. Some people who are or would roll over in their graves to hear that about you have been a part of your life. 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, โ€˜ring him up one last time.โ€™ 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 Godโ€™s wake-up call, it has a tendency to ruin your whole life and the next one and the one after that. Iโ€™m sure there is someone reading this who 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. Thatโ€™s worth shouting about. The bible counts it all joy. Life and death look a whole lot different to me now. Actually, theyโ€™re both the same to some extent. God is in both worlds. And itโ€™s pretty nice to recognize and follow Him in this one.

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

A 2019 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Legacy Award winner, Washington is a communications practitioner in all forms of media for over four decades. He has served on numerous boards in...