Mark Katrick faith column: When those pesky warning lights come on, listen to what God says
Seasons come and seasons go — all too quickly. It seems like yesterday, I made my most-recent trip to the Green Mountain State to visit my children. While I was there, a warning light came on in my car’s dashboard. It signaled the pressure was low in one or more of my tires. Those kinds of things always happen when you’re far away from home, right?
Pete’s Tire Barn in New Hampshire displayed their own special brand of New England hospitality by seeing me as a walk-in. And they had good news to share: The issue was not with my tires but in a sharp variance of temperature.
For example, on my way home to Newark, early in the morning, it was 15 degrees. By the time I got near Erie, Pennsylvania, on Interstate 87, the thermometer had risen to 55 (which just so happens to be the speed limit on that stretch of highway). Then, my warning light, as if on cue, turned off on its own. I blinked my eyes in disbelief. Once again, the electronics were one step ahead of me.
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It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The system was working exactly as it’s supposed to. Then the realization came that I’d spent an entire morning trying to get something fixed that wasn’t broken. It felt like wasted time that could have been spent with my youngest son.
Now let’s spring forward, then back a few years. The seasons are changing once more. I’m participating in a community Ash Wednesday service on the courthouse steps. As the clock strikes 12, technology does its thing once more. They’re testing the tornado warning system. My colleagues and I just so happen to have parked ourselves underneath the siren. My ears are still ringing like church bells. OK, I’m just kidding. It was only for the rest of the day.
Your car’s maintenance light goes on, and you’ve just had your oil changed. Your smoke detector with its brand new batteries starts beeping, just as you’re walking out the door (and running late). Or you’re watching a rerun of “Lost in Space,” and the Robot is out and about with its light flashing: “Warning, warning!” cries this oversized version of R2D2, even when there’s no “clear and present danger” in sight.
Let’s put it this way: Despite any inconvenience it may have caused, or time that really wasn’t wasted, I was glad my tires didn’t need to be changed halfway between Binghamton and Rochester, New York. And I was even more glad when not one but two tornado sirens went off when my family and I were right smack in the middle of one.
Technology — you can’t live with it. But what would we do without it?
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Our Creator God has installed in us a whole system of warning lights connected to hearts and minds and souls. They have been expertly and intricately wired for early detection. Yet in its early stages, when a “danger, danger” has just been perceived, we don’t want to hear or do something about it, even if the signal is from the divine. When a light goes on, or the lightning flashes and the thunder roars, it’s easier to cover our ears and our eyes and hope it will pass. Or is it, really?
So when the “still small voice” of God whispers, “You and I need to talk.” Or you and I are anxious or afraid of something or the other and the Son of God says, “Let’s pray about it.” And better yet, invite a trusted friend to hold your hand while you’re praying. Be thankful for any inconvenience it may cause.
A simple paraphrase from lyrics to the hymn, “Leaning On the Everlasting Arms,” puts it this way: “Be safe and secure WITH all alarms.” Then say a breath prayer to keep you calm, centered and focused.
Breathe in: “Keep me safe, O God.” Breathe out: “For in you I take refuge.”
Mark Katrick is a pastor and spiritual guide.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mark Katrick faith column: Amid those pesky warning lights, listen to God
