Come Awake

I don't know this man.
I took his photograph while he was either passed out or taking a quick nap along a pier in San Diego. He's beautifully lovely.
I glanced again this morning at the photo and thought of the verse in Ephesians where Paul was writing about darkness vs. lightness.
"But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says: "Awake, O Sleeper and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you,"" Eph 5: 13-14.

Wake up, Mr. Man.
Daily, I need a wake up call. Not just physically, but spiritually, mentally and emotionally as well.
I sin.
I'm not that good of a person at times. I struggle, fail and get down on myself about everyday -- some days are lighter than others, true, but still...
I sometimes sink.
There are a few people in my life who I used to view up on a pedestals, like they were some sort of model Christian people that never sinned, were perfect and did everything by the book. In my eyes, they were absolutely spotless.
It took me maybe 6 months to get over it and realize that they are human, they sin and struggle, just like I do.
That's the stigma Christians carry around with them. When I wasn't walking with Christ in college, I was so turned off from Christianity because "Christians" all seemed so perfect, so fine and smooth like the cheek of a babe. Why would anyone of those "perfectly flawless" people want to be friends with me...especially on a Sunday morning when I would wake up smelling like an old ashtray and rotting beer.
Better yet, why would Jesus want to be my friend? I mean, it was because of me and my stupid decisions that he died in the first place.
I heard someone talking recently about having to be reminded that we need to view God's grace as a rushing river that can wash over everything and anything we do against the will of God.
Those mornings when I would wake up feeling like I had been ran over and floating on a stormy sea, all it would have taken was a simple prayer of re-birth, a step of faith and an acceptance that even though I sin, Christ still loves me, calls me his friend and even took it upon himself to die so that I, a measly and silly woman, could live.
As Christians, we are continually in the grace of God. We make that initial step and have to keep on stepping, holding onto our fathers hand and allowing His river of grace to wash us over again and again when we need it.
Sometimes we even need to wake up.
I have to die to myself and be born again knowing that in Christ, in His light, there is so much more dept and beautiful loveliness to this thing called life.
Arise, come awake and Christ will shine on you...