THAT MOMENT OF ALARM

All was calm as the morning slipped into afternoon. I was sitting at my keyboard when I heard it.  The low, throaty wails of the emergency sirens, rising above the noise of the distant traffic, focused their growing urgency in my ears.  For just a moment, all kinds of disaster played out in my mind. What in the world could have triggered them?

Then I remembered that it was the first Wednesday of the month.  Noon.  Just a regular test of the system.  I listened to it climb and fall a few times, then fade to silence.

We were all safe, of course.  The tests are so regular to avoid panic, but nonetheless, I’d felt the slight tightening of my muscles when it first hit my ears, sensed the light rush of adrenaline.  I wondered, why would a scheduled test do that? Then it came to me.

There is no such thing as a good alarm.

How many more alarms do we hear and ignore just because we’re used to them?  My neighbor’s car alarm goes off every other night, but I sleep through it now.  So does she, apparently.  Across the alley, a dog barks out a warning every time someone walks by.  We’re used to paying no attention to things that really should demand it.

There are constant emotional and spiritual alarms going off, too.  Every spring, as the world started to wake up and blossom, I would get a sick depression.  The sight of children saddened me, but I would feign disinterest with them, just to keep them away.  At work or at play, if I made the slightest mistake, I’d be ashamed of it.  I mean, disproportionately ashamed, like I had to get away and hide.  If anyone tried to comfort me or just find out what was wrong, I lashed out at them… and then apologized.  I had alarms going off all around and through me, but I ignored them for as long as I could.  I just pretended that I was “fine.”

It reminds me of a meme going around of a cartoon dog sitting at his kitchen table with a cup of coffee while the entire room is engulfed with flame.  “This is fine,” he says with a smile.

Let me ask you, is your kitchen on fire?  Do you have alarms going off in your life that you know are there, but you don’t want to acknowledge?  Are there pains in your soul and heart that you just wish would go away?

Pain is the primal alarm.  If something hurts, it means it needs attention, and if it doesn’t get that attention, infection (or worse) sets in, whether it’s a blister on your heel, a broken femur, or unrelenting grief.

Or an abortion in your past.

So put ointment on your blister, get a cast on your leg, and call Project Joseph.  The team knows what you’re going through because they’ve been there, too.  They know what works and will help.

Why settle for “fine” when you can start healing?  Call now.  469-720-CARE (2273)