The Alarm Clock

For years, my alarm went off at 4:45 am every day.
I am a morning person but by many standards that was far too early in the morning.
Though not for me.
I needed the time to myself before I started the day.

I knew that by the time I got downstairs at 5:45 I would soon have children waking up.
I wanted to get my shower, get dressed, and be ready for the day.
I really don’t think my children ever saw me in pajamas during the week.
They would see me in a robe on a Sunday morning before church.

I did not do this to get the mother of the year award.
I did this for my own well being.
I needed to spend some time with the Lord as I had my breakfast before I started my day.
Beginning the day like that helped get my priorities in order.

After my youngest daughter went to college, I set my alarm for 6:30.
I slept in a bit.
There was not the pressing need to be up the early hours I kept before.
However, I actually miss those early mornings.

I still do the things I did before just forty-five minutes later.
There is something about the morning.
There is something about an alarm clock.
The former is a blessing while the latter can be an unwelcome intrusion.

My alarm clock is on the other side of my bedroom.
I do not use my phone since I need to get out of bed to actually turn off the alarm clock.
Once I am up and out of bed, I am up for the day.
The sound of the alarm clock still breaks the silence of my sleep.

When I was a girl, I never had an alarm clock.
Even though I never had an alarm clock, I was never late.
My internal clock was always set to the early morning it seemed.
However, in those days, my mother’s voice would wake me up.

I would hear her from the hallway, Regina, it’s time to get up.
The sound of her voice broke into my sleep.
The fact that my mother was telling me it was time to get up, added a bit of emphasis.
It would wake me up every time.

It was on that April morning, I heard my mother’s voice as before.
Except this time its sounded closer.
This time she came into my room, as she occasionally did, and kissed my forehead.
Regina, it’s time to get up. I love you.

I heard her walk downstairs.
I heard her turn on the news radio.
I heard her turn on the water to make coffee.
I heard her call my father’s name, followed by a loud thud.

My father got downstairs first.
When I came down, he told me to stay away.
My mother had suffered a massive heart attack on our kitchen floor.
Our little dog was by her side.

I remember running upstairs to get dressed.
I remember hearing the ambulance arrive.
I remember them taking my mother out of the house.
She was not the color she was supposed to be.

It was hours later that day, she died.
I know in my heart, she died there in our kitchen.
Modern medicine can do quite a bit to resuscitate.
Modern medicine can sometimes delay the inevitable.

The day after my mother died was a blur.
The following day, I realized that her voice from the hallway would no longer wake me up.
It was that day I bought an alarm clock.
I have had an alarm clock ever since.

On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?

Jesus once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” He said. “But Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there will be a bad odor for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me. When He had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hand and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
(John 11:17-26 and 38-44)

One day, we will be awakened from the sleep of death by a Voice.
It is a Voice we recognize.
It is a Voice we have been listening to our whole lives, if we believe in Him.
It is a Voice that we respond to.

When we hear His Voice, we will be filled with joy.
When we hear His Voice, we know that Morning has finally come.
It’s time to wake up!
I love you!

Amen.