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EN(dur)ANCE by Robin Gudal

I have been dubbed by my knight in shining armor, aka Greggy, my hubs, as the Queen of Alarms.

I, as some use the saying, won’t be late for my own funeral. I like to be on time. I think it’s respectful to be so and strive to make this a priority. Having said that, please don’t think I am never late, as that is not the case; sometimes life happens.

I set alarms or two for important, can’t over-sleep events. I have alarms on my phone, and I use my stove timer, a lot. The practice began when our kids were young. We live in an older, three-story farmhouse that has the laundry room in the basement. We do most of our living on the main floor. With the hustle and bustle of family life, I would sometimes forget that I had thrown in a load of laundry — until the next day. Ugh, redo! Then I discovered the stove timer!

My special-needs sister gets excited about the next adventure; the timer works like a charm, she can go look at it and see, 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes and then go time! I feel it helps me with efficacy. I love reminders.

On my cell phone I have several alarms. One is a prayer reminder. For one of my adult child’s birthday this past year I gave the gift of specific prayer time, 5:20 p.m. Everyday my alarm goes off; I smile, pray for them and feel blessed to be a mom. I took this idea from a mom and daughter who called each other at a specific time daily (blessed be the memory of Bonnie). I have other alarms to remind me of thing to do.

We need to be alert, awake and then alarmed at times in our lives.

1 Peter 5:8-9, NIV shares: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. We have an enemy who comes to derail us. Now is the time to pray, dear loved ones. Let us be ready!

Robin (Beckman) Gudal is intentional in life, a wife, momma, nana, friend and a flawed and imperfect follower of Jesus.