I rolled over in the pre dawn darkness to catch a glimpse of the numbers illuminated on Chris’ alarm clock.

5 am.

I lay there for a moment trying to figure out why I was awake.  Then I heard it again.

Beep.

For the third morning in a row one of our smoke detectors was emitting a low-battery warning signal.  Chris had hauled out the ladder and replaced the batteries in two of the detectors the day before.  But in the middle of the night it is difficult to tell which direction the sound is coming from in this big, echoey house, without actually getting out of bed to investigate.  The fact that there is a smoke detector in each of the five bedrooms, two in the hall and one on the stairs also makes detecting the detector a challenge.

2 down, 6 to go.

The smoke detector wasn’t the only thing keeping me up the past few nights.

A call from my doctor earlier in the week, recommending some further tests, had triggered my own alarms.  Visions of worst-case scenarios danced in my head, preventing me from settling down for any long winter’s naps.  Despite my efforts to muffle the sound with the pillow of reason, my fears kept emitting a low, intermittent “beep.”

Today I am wondering…

Do I need to pinpoint the source of my anxieties to help me understand where they are coming from?  Are my spiritual batteries low?  Is a fresh encounter with the Lord needed to replace my fears with His peace?  What will stop the constant beeping of the “What Ifs” in my mind?

I don’t have all the answers yet.  But I am up and investigating.  I will let you know what I discover.

(Read “More Things That Go Beep in the Night” for the continuation…)