No, I don’t mean a morning wake up call. I mean waking up from the stupor that has become your life. A call to crowd out the complacency and mediocrity that has gradually consumed you. A return to self. Perhaps it’s time for an entirely different path, a new direction, a fresh start. Maybe it’s time for a change. What is a wake up call and how can it change your life?
Be assured your wake up call will come when you’re good and ready. When you’re able to receive it, it will come calling. Will you hear it the first time? Or will it have to knock you flat before you get the message?
Table of Contents
Wake Up Calls Come In Many Different Forms
Our wakeup calls will always be designed just for us. No two calls sound the same. Our calls come in many different forms and flavors. Maybe it’s the cancer diagnosis we never saw coming. Or the troublesome health condition that suddenly becomes life threatening, and turns our world upside down. Circumstances can and do change on a dime without warning. It’s easy to take circumstances and people for granted. Love your people.
A financial crisis comes calling in the form of a job loss or lay off. This will pry anyone from their dream-like state. Will we see the growth and learning inherent in the trial or will we rail and scream against God that it’s not fair. And it isn’t fair. No one said it would be. Will the question be: “Why me?” or “What’s next?” The answer depends on the question.
Will we have the spiritual maturity to gracefully bear our burdens? These are tough questions. Some days will be better than others. May we all have the perspective to see the big picture, and soldier through the hard days.
Why Suffering?
The many disappointments we experience lead us to ask why; the job offer that didn’t materialize, the call that didn’t come, the lost opportunities, the dreams that disappeared, our fragile faith. Perhaps we’re underwhelmed and need an outlet in which to devote our time and talents.
Nothing’s on the horizon for now. We wait. The message could be in the waiting. Or is the overwhelm so great, it’s impossible to go on? Maybe there’s a more authentic way to live? That could be the message…
Oh the ways we suffer: The wayward child we haven’t seen in years, the marriage that was destined to never die but is, the addiction that enslaves, the children we never bore, the chronic loneliness, regret and heartache. On and on it goes. Is it possible to be gracious amidst the deprivation? Only in hindsight will we see the purpose in our pain, the unexpected lessons in the storm.
The Gifts That Come From Listening
Are you getting the message your call is conveying? I hope so. I hope I am too. Some days I think I am, other days I falter. We all do. Wakeup calls come bearing gifts. Here are some:
- More intentionality in our commitments
- A greater respect for time and how it’s spent
- Gratitude for everything
- Increased awareness and authenticity
- The ability to let things go
- A healthy relationship to time and how we spend it
- The ability to see the big picture
- An enhanced ability to see what’s really important and to prioritize effectively
- Renewed strength and resolve to overcome and endure
- Reliance on God and a desire to develop spiritual gifts
- A greater ability to go with the flow without having to be in control
[Read More: Happiness For Health | What’s The Connection?]
Where Will The Curve In Your Bend Take You?
Where will the curve in your bend take you, and will you let it lead you? You could end up on a new career path, or in a location you love, or a truly authentic relationship. New vistas and horizons may be the direct result of the alarms going off around you, nudging you into a new and larger life.
The bell could be beckoning you to believe in yourself when before you didn’t dare. Now you have the courage and strength to take control of your life. Maybe you’ll ditch the stories you tell yourself about yourself. What a relief that would be. You would never have done it had you not been forced.
What Am I Meant To Learn?
What do we learn from our shaky foundations? Greater humility, more gratitude, stronger endurance, enhanced perspective, renewed hope, firmer faith, deeper empathy, heightened compassion, tougher resiliency, and an abiding patience. Maybe we learn a new way of being in the world, a new way of interacting with others, a softer heart.
I love Anne Morrow Lindberg’s “Gift From The Sea.” A tale of tragedy and strength, Lindberg uses the sea as a metaphor for the turbulent times none of us escape, but are significant, nonetheless. The sea shells she so lovingly describe represent each stage of our lives and the lessons contained within.
Throughout the book, insights into human nature are uncovered and discussed, not only our relationships with each other, but to ourselves. Lindberg underscores that what we all truly desire and crave is peace and serenity.
Key Points
Change is good. Change is scary. Embrace whatever new horizons come your way. You may be led down some forgotten lane you never dreamed you’d travel.
Be open and willing to follow. Circumstances are most likely unfolding just as they should. Embrace your unraveling.
Does change scare you? I’d love to hear your perspective. Let me know in the comments:)
Disclaimer: This article is strictly for informational purposes only and is not intended to be medical advice.
If there is one thing I dread more than death, I have to say it is change. I dread change so much, to the extent that my house design and structure, is the same as it was from the time we moved in. Though some things have happened to me that have changed my life for the worse, the wake up calls I’ve had have helped me embrace my fears.
Thanks for this post though. It motivated me!
Change can be scary and unsettling, even though it can lead us to new vistas and adventures. Most of us don’t go seeking wake up calls. We like our comfortable routines. Like you said, though, times of adversity can help us embrace our fears and put them in their proper perspective. Thanks for reading!
Hello, you have put up a really good post here, it is honestly not easy to adapt to change. I have witnessed it and the process itself can be really scary based on the context. The truth is change is constant and whatever change we see that is imminent, we need to pray about it and tell God to guide us on taking a different path. That is my take.
Thank you. Yes, I think all of us naturally resist change. It’s human nature. If we only knew what was on the other side, it would be quite revelatory, and we made not be so resistant. Change is scary but can be just what we need, and yes, change is the only constant in life. God’s strength can get us through any trial we face.
In it’s most simplistic form, this reminds me of the Alcoholics Anonymous Serenity Prayer; God, grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. It is rather refreshing to read something that has more than consumerism at it’s heart. If we receive that wake up call, stuff becomes suddenly irrelevant.
Hi Troy,
I love the Serenity Prayer. It’s so relevant for all of us, not just those struggling with addiction. Wake up calls certainly have the ability to bring out the wonderful qualities of acceptance, wisdom, and courage. They also put our priorities in perspective. Things we previously thought were important, seem to pale when are faith is tried. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment!
Thanks for this inspirational article, One of the greatest tragedies in life is having a wake-up call and not waking up to change your life for the better. I totally agree with you on the fact that a wake-up call is a terrible thing to waste because I have been at that point in life. But I’m grateful I came across this article. I feel deep down it was meant for me to take life seriously. Thanks a lot!
Thank you. Yes, we shouldn’t waste wake-up calls. They happen to all of us in some form, although the call is unique to each of us. Wake up calls can be the impetus for us to change a course that wasn’t meant for us or to revamp our priorities. Whatever the case, it’s vital to try and understand the meaning in the chaos.
Thanks for your comment!
Change is scary. We live our lives in a particular way, in a familiar scene or we have embarked on tasks that we just refuse to admit are not for us. The chance to try something new becomes so scary because we consider the time spent in building that business or time spent in getting that degree or time spent in a particular relationship that starting over becomes a very difficult choice to make. Some people are willing to accept change but most people run from it.
Hi Jay,
I believe it’s built into us to resist change. It’s how we’re wired as humans. Change terrifies most of us because the familiar is just that, familiar, which feels safe, even though it may not be the ideal situation for us at the time.
Change can be hard in the short term, but life saving in the long term as it can get us out of dead-end jobs and relationships or other situations that aren’t for our highest good. It can seem overwhelming at first because as you said, building a business or finishing school can be tough. Thank goodness we just need to tackle it a day at a time.
Thanks so much for your comment!
Hi! This has been a really helpful post. It has helped me put things into perspective. We take so many things for granted, and these dramatic changes really make us feel gratitude for everything we receive daily. It also helps us with a healthy relationship to time and how we spend it.
Nobody ever expects these wake up calls. But once they arrive, they make us better.
Hi Henry,
Thank you for your comment. Wake up calls can instill a sense of gratitude for things that we typically take for granted. New perspectives can also help us appreciate time more and what we do with the time we’re given. Nobody would ask for a wake up call, but in hindsight the gifts can be recognized and appreciated. They have the ability to make us better!
Great post and I enjoyed reading it. Sometimes change scares me, especially difficult changes. But we have to look at difficult changes from God’s perspective and not be afraid. He didn’t give us a spirit of fear but a sound mind. Sometimes we bring about change by the way we think and as a man think in his heart so is he.
Hi Letha,
Thank you. I think most people are afraid of change. It’s scary because we humans are creatures of habit and anything that veers from what we’re used to can be frightening. If we can see the big picture and rely on God in times of change and chaos, we can come through our trials with a newfound hope and resolve.
Trials change us and hopefully for the better. Faith not fear is how we are truly wired even though it doesn’t seem that way many times because it feels so natural to be afraid. I agree with you that are thought processes are so important to how our lives unfold.
Hello; A wakeup call can give meaning to a lot of circumstances that plague our lives, that follow us for so long that they become normal, so we don’t take the time to resolve them.
But when the wake-up call comes; so does awareness, the step must be taken to overcome or to conquer. We should never be too scared at the sound of the wakeup call. It is time for action.
DorcasW
Hi Dorcas.
Wake up calls leave new perspectives in their wake that are long overdue. They force us into new ways of doing things, which we otherwise likely wouldn’t consider. Another gift of being woken up from our daily stupor is awareness and a newfound ability and motivation to overcome. Wake up calls can be scary but in the end are just want we needed!
Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment!
I found this article incredibly intriguing. The reason why is because I recently had a wakeup call from out of the blue about 6 months ago. I had to have some minor surgery, and it was at that time that I found out that my blood pressure was sky high. I was told that I could have a stroke or a heart attack at any time. Well, now I’m on BP medicine and it’s coming down, but for awhile there, every time I went to work or walked into a Walmart, the nagging question was in the back of my mind, “Am I gonna drop dead, right here, right now?”
Well I drove myself crazy of course with this mindset, until I just couldn’t take it anymore, plus I knew I was just exacerbating the whole situation. Finally, I turned to the only One I could. God. I surrendered it all to Him because I was letting it destroy me, and I didn’t know how to stop letting it.
As I said, now my blood pressure is coming down but in the interim, I have received almost all of the gifts you have listed, the greatest and most precious one being: “Reliance on God and a desire to develop spiritual gifts.” It has made a huge difference in my life and I’m on a totally different path than I was on 6 months ago.
Thanks you for sharing this wonderful post. I believe I was meant to read it and I agree with you about circumstances unfolding just as they should.
Sue
Hi Sue,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. Wake up calls sure teach a lot, don’t they? I’m sorry to hear about yours, but it sounds like you’ve had some unexpected gifts because of it, one being a reliance on God.
In my opinion, we all need to learn this at some point on our journey. Wakeup calls can project us onto a totally different path, one that we’re meant to be on, and otherwise wouldn’t be without the call. Sounds like you’re a the right path for you. I’m so glad!
Thank you again!