The Call

The line at the police station to pay court fees and traffic tickets didn't really bother me. I wasn't the one who had broke the law, just the companion to the person who broke the law. Maybe it was due to nerves, but she complained about everything. The line was too slow, the people weren't smart and she was late for another appointment. As we got nearer to the pay window, I could hear more people complaining. Hum? I wondered if they were the ones who had done the crime because they sure thought of themselves as the victims. Driving home, she complained once again about how this had spoiled her day. What about my day? I had to remind her that this was a wake-up call to do better. Wake up calls are not supposed to be glamorous with pampering. (I think that is called a reward)
My early memories of wake up calls consist of a very loud woman who I called Mom clunking downstairs with a pot and spoon in her hand, shouting, "rise and shine!" uugg. I would then be reminded on a daily basis about the importance of me setting a good example since I was the oldest. Sometimes she would lament about how her soul wouldn't go to Heaven if I didn't turn out well. The load was huge and I carried it for years.
In the car, we noticed someone who had pulled out in front of us without warning with a bashed in door panel from another wreck where they had pulled out in front of someone else. He glared at me and I snickered that he was making the same mistakes and not learning the lesson but feeling very much the victim.
So what do you do when you get a wake up call? For some of us, it starts as a little whisper. They don't all begin with pain. More and more of my friends are talking about this feeling that they want to do better with their relationships and our planet. John Mayer is even singing about it with his new song, "Say". After lunch today with a friend, we went to Susan's house for her photo shoot. She's running for Kansas State senate and needed pictures for her brochures. I've only met her twice but she has a drive inside that tells me she's listening to her "call". Her inside voice is too loud to ignore. "The world needs our help, Sandy. When gas prices shot up 18 cents, that's when I knew I had to do something!" she said. Her vision is contagious. Her personality grabs you like a hug.
We should stop feeling like our dreams don't matter. I spent too many years asking, trying to get the approval of others first. Now I do what's right, I listen to that tiny whisper because I know just how loud it can get.

Susan Meyer www.kssenate7.com

Video to watch: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacey-lawson/amazing-grace-video_b_111155.html