Look Up, Girl!Sample

Are You Awake?

Do you remember sleepovers when you were a kid? A bunch of little girls hunkered down in the living room with their sleeping bags and half-­eaten bowls of popcorn scattered about? Maybe there was a movie playing or music or both as a soundtrack over the chatter of your friends gossiping about the new boy at school? Then one by one, each girl would fall asleep until the very last child had no one to talk to. No one to stay up with her.

Our childhood makes for a poor comparison to the absence of true friends in our adult life. But it is the same feeling—alone and forgotten.

What a disheartening blow to the Savior—that it was His inner circle of friends that couldn’t wait up with Him one single hour on the very eve He would be arrested. The ones He loved the most, spent every waking minute with, ate with, camped, and traveled with. They confessed their love and utter commitment to Him, yet at the very hour He needed them most, they fell asleep.

I’m sure Jesus was constantly being disappointed by what He saw around Him. The religious leaders were cor­rupt and cruel. God’s Chosen People were being brutally oppressed by Roman rule. And His own hand-­selected apostles believed in His Power one minute only to question it the next. It must have seemed like the whole world—with so much at stake—was dozing off.

Are you sleeping when you should be present? Is a friend who’s in need bearing a burden alone because you’re sidetracked with your own troubles? As King Solomon put it, there is “a time to break down, a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:3­4). As women of faith, let’s stay awake if only to hold up another woman who may need us.

Top off your lamp with oil. Be ready when your name is called. Stand guard as you watch over the flock. Com­mune with the Lord at all times. He never slumbers, and He will keep you from falling asleep.

Question

Can you remember a time when you fell asleep on a friend who needed you? What can you do to keep from doing it again?

Prayer

Sweet Jesus, enable me to stay alert and outside of my own problems. My spirit says to look around me for someone who needs help, but my flesh is wiry and my eyes begin to close. Give me renewed stamina to stay awake with You. Amen.

References

“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.” —1 Thessalonians 5:6

“I have prayed for you... that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your [sisters].” —Luke 22:32

“Be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” —Ephesians 6:18

“Many people walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

“Courage and kindness, loyalty, truth, and helpfulness are always the same and always needed.” —Laura Ingalls Wilder