When it happens, it's always at 2 am. When you're sound asleep, the last thing I want to hear is the rhythmic chirp of the smoke detector. Thankfully, this time, it was 8 pm, but after searching the house, there were no 9-volt batteries to be found. So off to the store I went, confident of my ability to fix this problem and thus have a great night's sleep. After all, I'm a husband and we do these sort of heroic things.
After changing every smoke detector battery throughout the house with the brand new ones, the chirps continued. Back I went to make sure everything was done correctly and that the batteries were properly loaded. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Getting more frustrated, and after a second go-around checking things, we slept in the basement where the sound wasn't so irritating.
The following morning, I was on the phone with the customer service rep from the smoke detector manufacturer. Shirley sounded confident and asked me to unplug and remove the batteries from the two upstairs units in order to read the serial numbers off to her. She could hear the chirping over the phone in the background. "I'm the smoke detector whisperer. Walk over to the area where the chirping is coming from," she instructed.
I just couldn't get why there was a continuing chirping sound with the battery-less units in my hands. "Stand in the room where the sound is coming from," said Shirley. Chirp. Chirp. "Look around the room. Do you have any units plugged into a wall there?" Chirp. Chirp. And sure enough, I looked down at a carbon monoxide detector plugged into our bedroom wall. Over the phone and probably hundreds of miles away, she found the culprit of an old detector with old batteries. Shirley saved the day, and I had a slice of humble pie for breakfast.
Life is like that for me at times. I really want to look like I know it all and I can handle things all by myself. Instead of the two-year-old me screaming "ME DO IT!" I tend to live this out as an adult by keeping problems and issues to myself. The truth is, often times I'm clueless and I don't have all the answers. But an even better truth is that God is just a moment away and I can go to him 24 hours a day. He's also blessed me with a great wife and family, great neighbors and friends, and a work staff that has their own experiences, expertise, and encouragements available. And they're just a phone call or conversation away.
I love the perspective Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9:"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed."
When I accept the fact that there will be times of weakness, brokenness, trials, and problems (yes, even as a Christian!), it's an opportunity see God's work come through in my life. Those fragile clay pots are a perfect representation of my life, filled with imperfections. When I can become real, transparent, and authentic, it's a chance for people to see Christ in me and how he's getting me through tough chapters in life. If I'm hiding these issues in my life, I'm hiding the opportunity for others to see God's saving grace, love, and mercy in my life.
I'm not there yet and am still a work in progress on this. But I'm seeing more and more the blessings God has in store for me when I'm able to ask for help. And God will even supply a Shirley over the phone from time to time who knows exactly how to help.
