A couple of weeks ago, I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home. I’d rented a few movies, bought a brand new book, and didn’t plan on leaving the comfort of my home unless absolutely necessary.

When I got home on the dawn of my weekend of relaxation, I heard a subtle beep. I checked my cell phone to see if I’d missed a call. Strange. No missed call. I thought maybe my ears had been playing tricks on me. About a minute later, I heard the same subtle beep. I tried to follow the sound.

After several minutes of following the sound, I discovered the culprit. Much to my dismay, I found myself at the end of the hallway near my bedroom, directly under the smoke detector. Beep… Beep…

OK, I thought to myself, I’m an adult. It’s probably just a dead battery, right? I can handle this. I had to leave the house anyway, so I picked up a battery on the way home (a two-pack, just in case).

I deftly changed the battery and pressed reset. Time to relax.

Beep.

It can’t be! I quickly exchanged battery number one for battery number two. Reset and…beep.

I removed the cover only to find that the smoke detector had a lot of ominous looking wires. I didn’t feel very confident with my electrical skills, so I thought disconnecting any wiring probably wouldn’t end well.

Maybe it’s not so bad, I thought. The beeping wasn’t very loud from the living room. I decided to sleep on the couch. It couldn’t possibly keep me awake all night.

Actually, it could. And it did.

The next morning, I looked at the culprit accusingly with bloodshot eyes. This was war. I tried everything I knew to try. I played with the circuit box, I tried the other battery, and I tried holding down the reset button at varying lengths of time. I tried to call the fire department. Because it was the weekend, there was no answer, and the all-too-pleasant voice on the answering machine said it could take up to two weeks. Two weeks? I was pretty sure my sanity would be long gone if this went on for two weeks. I even tried praying that the smoke detector would stop beeping “In the name of Jesus!” I know the Lord could have put me out of my misery, but I think He may have wanted me to learn something from this blessed event. (Go figure!)

I was down to my last nerve. I decided to try to freshen up and ignore the noise. I turned on a worship CD (even though I didn’t much feel like worshipping the Lord if He was choosing not to deliver me from my trials – remember my sleep deprivation at this point). As the music started to play, I realized that I couldn’t really hear the beeping noise above the music.

In hindsight, I’m reminded of Isaiah 30:21 (NIV) “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

We have a choice in what we listen to. I could have listened to the deathly beeping sound for the rest of the weekend and ended up with little sleep and a crummy attitude. Instead, I listened to music (and later even a movie) that caused the annoying beeping sound to go away. When we focus on the voice of the Lord encouraging and guiding us, it becomes easier to tune out the negative, distracting voices.

So, what are you listening to?

The rest of the story: I found out a couple of days later that I had been fiddling with the wrong smoke detector. There are four smoke detectors in close proximity to one another in our upstairs hallway blocked from view by doorframes. I was, unfortunately, unaware of this helpful little tidbit of information until it was a little too late. So, I’ve been able to sleep peacefully once again in the comfort of my own bed.