This morning I was woken up by a fire alarm in our hotel room. I didn’t know what was happening. I just had to get up and run down the fire stairs. I put on a pair of shoes and grabbed my purse that was next to my bed. Then I went with my husband down the stairs just as the fire trucks arrived. It turns out there was a very minor fire in a first-floor kitchen. Not too much to worry about, but it did make me think about what was really important.
They say when I fire alarm goes off that you shouldn’t take anything with you. Just leave. When I woke up, I didn’t care about anything that I had in the room. I only wanted shoes to protect my feet, my purse because it had my asthma inhaler, and my husband. Everything else was just stuff. I didn’t care about any of the rest. At that moment in time, the only things I really desired was my own safety and protection and that of the ones I loved.
When we were waiting for the all clear, we found a woman and her son who were waiting with us. The woman had just had hip replacement surgery and had a cane with her. I offered her if she wanted to be able to sit in our car until we could go back in the hotel. She told us she was okay, but she thanked us. I didn’t know this woman she was a complete stranger, but when I say that I only cared about the safety of the ones I loved, I meant all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I wanted everyone to be safe not just my husband and me.
It is strange, but that alarm set off something strange inside my head. Sometimes I have trouble dealing with people, but at the very heart of the matter, I want so desperately to show love and understanding to everyone I come into contact with. It is a lifelong struggle, but I know that I will continue to struggle until the day I die. I desire to love others and to understand that life is like a fire drill. Sure its okay to have wants and desires. Its okay to get caught up in the everyday hassles of life, but at the heart of the matter is love: love for my God, love for my husband, love for myself, and love for all of God’s children.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about
this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that
you can do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is great blog.
A great read. I’ll definitely be back.