The alarm is going off

Please let me run down a few events that happened this morning to me and quite a few others in the Ridge. I have a point in telling you this, but enjoy the story first.

6:10-ish AM~ Lightning strikes the Ridge

6:13 AM~ I wake up to the loudest fire alarm I’ve ever heard in my life. I try to go back to sleep but quickly realize that my attempts would be futile.

6:15 AM~I get out of bed and check the fire alarms in the apartment, they are working fine and not beeping. My head is ringing at this point.

6:16 AM~ I open my front door with Matt and Earnest behind me, and we find a group of about 15 people wondering the same thing as us: “What the heck is going on?”

6:20 AM~ Elizabeth Wall calls the police, who had no idea what was going on, and they call the fire department, who also had no idea what was going on. Bad sign? Maybe. They’re on their way.

6:22 AM~ Lightning strikes nearby and the thunder was so loud it nearly shook us. Well this is fun.

6:25 AM~ Everyone knows that there is no fire, but we also know that the fire alarm they installed at the Ridge is on steroids. Literally, I thought my ears were going to start bleeding.

6:32 AM~ All 15 of us are still wondering what is going on. I would tell you what everyone said, but I couldn’t hear them myself. Also, no fire truck yet has arrived. I realize that if there really were a fire, we would all be out of luck. Scary? Maybe.

6:35 AM~ The fire truck arrives! They walk around without really doing anything. Thanks..

6:36 AM~ The maintenance guy for the Ridge walks out of an electrical closet and says to us, “It is not working. I don’t know what to do. I called them and they’re coming. I don’t know what time. Sorry”

6:37 AM~ I decide to try to battle the piercing alarm and go back to sleep since there is nothing else I can do. I grab my noise-canceling headphones and my iPod. Hopeless? Maybe.

6:38 AM~ I realize that there are some sounds even the best headphones can’t block out.

6:39 AM~ God’s hand reaches out to the Ridge and turns off the alarm.

6:40 AM~ I lay down to go to back to sleep and experience the best silence of my life.

6:50 AM~ I realize that I am no longer tired. Apparently the throbbing in my head woke me up. I also realize something else that I will explain in a little bit.

7:00 AM~ I grab a cup of water and sit down to write this blog. Too early? Maybe.

So why did I write all that? Why did I attempt to explain a sound that can not be captured in words? Why in the world am I up at 7:30 writing? One reason: Silence is beautiful.

For a lot of us, my alarm story is our everyday lives. We have things going on around us all the time- people, TV, movies, music, texting, sports, class, phone calls, homework, . We never get a break from all of it. It’s a constant go-go-go mentality and we hardly get a chance to exhale, a chance to relax. Going crazy? Maybe. We never get a chance to hear the most beautiful sound of them all– silence.

The thing I realized in my bed was silence is necessary. I’m not talking just about not having any noise around you, I’m talking about pure silence- no distractions, no thoughts, no worries, no nothing. Why do we need this? Because Jesus did. Mark 1:35 says “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Key word? Solitary. Solitary means alone. Solitary means remote from civilization. Solitary means he can actually hear himself think and have a conversation with God. Solitary means silent.

Jesus did not have one of the disciples texting him to see what he’s doing at night. Jesus was not playing video games. Jesus was not studying for his next big test worth 35% of his final grade. (Side note: I have a final exam today. Pray for me. I’m writing instead of studying. Sorry Mom.) Jesus was alone, he was silent. What was he doing? Praying, talking with God. What are we all doing when we have silence? For probably 90% of us it’s sleeping- I am included in that group. But Jesus got up early in the morning even before the birds started chirping. Maybe we should try that. Maybe we should sacrifice our time for God. Maybe we forget what he sacrificed for us. Too harsh? Maybe

All I’m saying is that a lot of times we can’t even hear from God because the alarms in our lives are going off. Our heads are filled with noise and clutter that we can’t seem to shake. I’m not saying it’s your fault, but we can work on trying to fix it. How? Well how about we follow the example of Jesus. Get up early, go to a silent place, and pray. Speak with God. I promise you it will be good for your soul. It’s not going to be easy. But just try it, see how it feels to really be in silence because silence is beautiful. Challenge? Yes. Worth it? Yes.

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