Warning Signs

About a year and a half ago, my carbon monoxide detector began going off. I climbed on a chair and tried to get it to shut off, but I couldn't find a battery. I called a friend's husband. He came over and showed me how to reset it. It turned out that it was hardwired into the house. There was no battery I could simply pull out.

Every day that detector went off. and every day I climbed on the chair and hit the reset button. I was telling someone how annoying the sound was, and she was incredulous that I hadn't gotten it checked out. I was in the midst of depression. Honestly, I didn't care much if CO was a problem. Life would be so much simpler. This wasn't what she wanted to hear. She made me promise to get it looked at the next day.

I found it impossible to find a non-emergency local fire department. They were the only people I could think of to call. So, I had to call and clearly state up front that it was not an emergency and that I was okay. But they were concerned enough to send someone out.

Well, I expected someone.

FIVE guys showed up to "clear" my house! The CO detector was pronounced defective but I had to get it fixed that day. CO is pretty serious business.

Have you ever tried to ignore the warning signs in your life?

I have. Particularly with depression. I know what it does and how it makes me feel. I often know the precursors, but often times my denial is larger than my sense of self preservation. Sometimes I ignore the tone in someone's voice and state my opinion too loudly or harshly and provoke a fight. I ignore the hardness in my heart when I turn away from the homeless man.

Jesus said that it is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean but what comes out of him makes him unclean. What comes out of him is a sign of a diseased or healthy heart.

The Bible is full of stories of people who failed to heed God's warnings:

• Lot's wife turning back towards Sodom and turning into a pillar of salt.
• The Israelites who grumbled again and again against God and his people.
• Over and over in the Old Testament, the Israelites are told to "remember," but by the time King Josiah came around, they had lost the book of the law and hadn't had a Passover celebration in ages.
• There is the rich young ruler in the New Testament. He wants salvation on his timing. He is proud of what he has done and asks a good question, "What else must I do?" Jesus looks at him and loves him and then says tells him to give his wealth to the poor and come and follow Him. And the rich young ruler, more concerned with this life than heaven, turned and walked away.

You get my point.

The Bible is full of stories where warnings go unheeded.

So, what warning signs are you ignoring?
Bible study slipping?
Resenting your family?
Allowing unforgiveness?

For me at the moment, the signs are wrapped up in the fact that I am turning 40 in December. Happily, I still get asked if I just graduated from college! But I can feel the resentment building. I want a husband and kids and the white picket fence. I know it isn't a perfect life, but going to bed alone and getting up alone and eating most meals alone is not pleasant.

The warning sign is that I am focusing on all that I WANT rather than what I HAVE and what God has done in my life. The "I'm feeling sorry for myself detector" is going off, now I need to choose how to replace it.

I haven't decided yet, but I am considering doing "40 to 40" on my personal site. For the 40 days before my birthday I am thinking of committing to write one thing I am thankful for, some way God has blessed me, and pleasant memories. I'm still mulling it over. But I think it might replace that detector!

So what warning signs are you not heeding?

What can you do today to begin to correct that?

God's Work In Progress,

This year I'm focusing on hope. I'd love for you to visit my personal blog: