Blessed to be Broken

Last night was fun, she said with extreme sarcasm. Safely tucked in my bed at 10 pm, I fell asleep pretty quickly. Next thing I knew, my smoke alarm blared into the silent night like an air horn next to my ear.

I sat straight up in my bed, threw the covers off, and jumped out of bed like I was a kid on Christmas morning. I know, I also surprised myself with the quick agility. Ha!

Then I did exactly what you probably shouldn’t do. Heart pounding, I sprinted to the door, grabbed the handle, and opened the door to see…dun, dun, dun…nothing but hallway.

The smoke alarm shut itself off. The “this was a test of the emergency broadcast system” voice played in my head.

However, my panic mode didn’t end there. I threw open all the doors, checked each room, appliances, outlets, walls, and stepped outside to see if anything was amiss there. Nothing.

Lord have mercy that must’ve been a sight! Thank the Lord nothing was amiss.

Mooser moose didn’t make a peep throughout this unwanted adventure. I’m guessing if my bark at everything to include a clump of grass dog isn’t upset, maybe things are ok.

I decided to try and go back to sleep. I no sooner sat on my bed, when that dang harpy of a smoke alarm started screeching back into the night. This time though, all the smoke alarms in the house joined in the chorus. A melodious sound it was not!

I felt like Phoebe from that episode of friends where she dismantled her smoke alarm, wrapped it up in a blanket, and threw it down the apartment building trash chute just to shut it up.

I digress. Once again, the alarms shut themselves off. Persnickety pieces of modern day equipment. I should note they shut themselves off in under 30 seconds if not sooner on each occasion.

So, I did want any sane person does at 1:45 in the morning, I grabbed a chair and some 9-volt batteries and changed all the batteries out.

I checked on Moose before I went back to bed, reassured him…or maybe that was for me, that everything was ok and that it was once again time for night, night.

I shut the lights off, climbed back in bed and noticed a red light emitting from that dang smoke alarm. It would blink red, like every 6-10 before going back to its green light. Trying to keep my brain from going into overdrive, I decided to consult the internet via my phone. I found the answer, straight away. NOT!!!

By the time I was done searching for the answer, I decided I knew nothing more than I did I before, and enough was enough. I put the phone back on the night stand. I pulled my covers up to my chin and I talked with God until I fell back asleep.

In the past, I would’ve let my mind play out all kinds of “what if” scenarios in my head and kept myself awake with all manners of things that may never come to pass. But, that’s not healthy and it’s the perfect breeding ground for anxiety. No, thanks. Been there, done that.

Since I’d done all I could do, I knew I had to give the rest to God so I could have His peace that surpasses understanding over my anxious thoughts.

I’m not saying that’s always easy to do, but I know how very necessary it is to keep the enemy from wreaking havoc in my being. Talking with God is the best thing I know to do when I need peace. What better way to fall asleep than talking with the person who loves me more than I could ever love myself. He knows me through and through.

Thankfully, there was no more screeching from the smoke alarms. But, if anyone truly knows why a smoke alarm would blink red every few seconds, I’d very much appreciate your wisdom.

And with that, I pray you all have an amazing, no smoke alarms going off in your home kind of day. Oh, in case you haven’t changed your smoke alarm batteries in a while, this is your reminder. Get er done! 😁