Just a Strand

Just as my head hit the pillow, the Ring alarm system alerted me to movement in the back yard. I hurried to the window to see if that cat was back again, the one causing me some sleepless nights.  

No cat.  Probably just a bug crawling on the camera.  That happens sometimes.  

Once again, my head aimed for the pillow.  And once again, the alarm sounded.  I was determined to catch the culprit this time.  Turning on the flood light for the yard, I searched for signs of any movement. 

None.  

Third time’s a charm. This time I knew there had been sufficient time for the video to display, so I checked the event list.  One strand of a cobweb hanging from the gutter moved slowly back and forth in front of the camera. 

A cobweb.  

This involved me putting on a house coat and house shoes, taking a trip to the garage for the broom and then walking to the back yard.  I saw no cobweb but swished the broom madly in all directions.  

There, that took care of that.  

But not so.  

No sooner had I climbed in bed, than the alarm repeated its message.  I do have the comedy routine on video, where I look like a wild woman, swinging that broom around the yard.  Up and down.  Back and forth.  Where in the world was that bloomin’ cobweb?  It wasn’t even a full-blown web; just a strand.  

Of course, by now I was wide awake.  Even though the alarm was silent, my brain was not.  

That’s when the thought occurred to me that life can be just like that.  It may be something very small and insignificant to us, but perhaps to someone else, their alarm bells are going off.  Maybe they were raised in an alcoholic home, you go out to dinner with them and they react to you having a glass of wine.  They may say something, or they may not.  They may just avoid you after that.  The picture of that glass of wine in your hand is more than they can handle. Mentally, they are waving that broom all around.

We just never know what life experiences they’ve encountered.

As a Christ-follower, I pray that I can be sensitive to the smallest signal someone emits.  Even though I may not understand the trauma, I can care about the aftermath they are dealing with and be there for them.  

“We’re all adrift in the same boat; too few days, too many troubles.  … So why not give us a break?  Ease up!  … You’ll watch over every step I take, but you won’t keep track of my missteps.”  Job 14:1, 6, 16  (MSG)