So Joel was grilling burgers and we had everything else ready, so I stuck my bread in the toaster to toast.....and promptly forgot about it. A bit later the fire alarm by the open stair case that goes either up or down went off. We looked around, did not see any smoke, so Joel went downstairs to check the dryer. Then the fire alarm in the dining room went off so now two were screaming alerts to us. Joel ran upstairs and checked while I did a sweep of the main level. Nothing. Then the fire alarm in the kitchen went off and Joel checked the walls to see if they were hot before heading back into the kitchen. He promptly said, "It is your toast!" The toaster had not popped it up and it was very very burnt, and smelling enough to set off alarms in three rooms without us smelling it. Since it started in the entry we did not think the problem was in the kitchen. We were fooled by the alarm in the kitchen going off last. After we got it taken care of I said, "Well, THAT was stressful and exhausting.."
It reminded me of other times in life where an alarm is going off, an alert to warn us but it takes awhile to figure it all out. One simple example is this journey with lymphedema...I did not notice my upper arm slowly growing until I noticed my hand was puffy. Then my arm drew my attention. It was such a slow subtle growth it did not draw my attention until my hand alerted me..."Houston, we have a problem." Stressful and exhausting. Putting aside health or house issues, there could be other things in life that send out warning signals we may not catch right away. I would say that one of those is the major issues with out government. I am NOT speaking about the red or the blue here but how over many years things have slowly changed and become so divided, and half truths are thrown around by both parties, and those supposedly representing the people are more concerned about being reelected than being honest, and really caring about those they represent. And lets not get started on how we expect our president to be our savior..........we already have one of those, His name is Jesus.
Another subtle erosion of humanity is social media. I think there is a lot of good in social media and I am on Facebook and Instagram. I am careful what I read or watch, but it is not all bad to be connected. Unfortunately it has also made it much easier to speak hate or division in such things as politics, science, and just how we do life. Different opinions should be welcome, not trashed. Again, a slow and subtle change caused a spiral down in how we treat each other. It is a sad state of affairs we are in. Stressful and Exhausting..
Most of what I have shared here is pretty negative, so where is the upside? For sure there is one. And it begins with us being more aware of what is going on around us, whether it is with something medical, political, social, or more. It begins with seeking out the Word of God and what we can gather from the Bible to live a life filled with love and grace, forgiveness and peace. I begins with how we treat each other, how we speak to each other, our neighbors, our community, etc. And so much more.
Our fire alarms going off today were confusing at first, but eventually we figured it out. We are smart people created by an amazing God, and we can figure out these other issues in our country too as we become aware and notice the "fire alarms" going off around us. It's not too late.
Today we are giving thanks for our fire alarms working so well..........and for our own inbuilt alarms that make us aware of what is happening around us, in us, and through us.
