This morning country singer Clay Walker was on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet.  He was talking about the day he received the biggest wake-up call of his life.

Eleven years ago, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  The doctors told him that he was going to die.  Today, watching him, you would never even know that he had an illness.

He told Mike and Juliet, the hosts, that this illness caused him to re-evaluate his entire life.  When he was first diagnosed, he wasn’t happy.  His life wasn’t in balance. 

Today, he credits his health with healing his body, mind, and spirit.  He takes the time to do things he loves.  He spends more time with his family.  He makes a conscious effort to live a more balanced life.

What’s Your Wake-Up Call?

Seeing him on the show this morning really got me thinking.  How many times do you refuse to change part of your life until something bad happens?  It could be an illness, divorce, or getting hurt on the job.  Each one of these things forces you to change direction in your life. 

The tricky part is recognizing that it is God’s intervention.  So many times you refuse to make the change on your own.  If that is the case, God steps in and throws you a complete curve ball.  This curve ball forces the change on you.

How Do You Handle the Change?

When a serious life-altering event is taking place in your life, how do you deal with it?  It’s very easy to fall straight into the victim role.  It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself and think that the world is ending. 

The truth is, that the world is ending as you know it.  BUT it’s not ending completely.  Now is the time to take inventory of your life.  What is working and what isn’t? 

It’s time to do a lot of internal housekeeping.  What needs to change?  What can you let go of that is no longer serving you?  What emotions, pain, anger, or guilt do you need to release?

It’s time to start over with a clean slate.  It’s time to get back to who you are and who you want to be.  It’s time to thank God for this blessing.  It’s time to find the silver-lining.