Crash in the Night

It was a normal night for us, and we followed our nightly rituals, ending with our study of the Sabbath School lesson and prayer.

As usual, we went to sleep quickly. Our days had been busy, so we were glad to fall into bed and looked forward to blissful sleep.

Around three thirty, we were awakened by a loud crashing noise. We had felt safe because of our security alarm, but what was that noise? Was an intruder trying to get into our home? My husband got up and went toward the locked door. He opened it and listened but heard nothing. I remained in bed, frightened and sinking deeper into the bedding while I pulled the covers higher up over me.

We heard no further noise, no footsteps, and no sound of an intruder. What would make that clattering noise? My husband turned on the lights and headed toward the bathroom. He glanced to his left, and there was the culprit.

Two closet shelves had fallen! Our clothes plus the other things on the shelves had been too much weight on them! What a mess! We laughed with relief. The “intruder” had turned out to be inanimate. We were safe, but this incident proved we needed to go through our closet and reduce some of our wardrobe.

We discovered clothes we seldom wore. Instead of cleaning out the closet when we purchased new items, we had just kept adding to what was already there. That’s why the shelves were overflowing. Now in the wee hours of the morning, our shelves had crashed, spilling clothing, hats, and purses all over the floor.

We were forced into action: we would have to declutter our closet. This incident also made me think about all our other stuff. Do we need so much? Should we start buying less and giving more away? Do you, like me, have too much clutter in your closet? Jesus, our Example, had only the necessities of life. Our frightening experience that night seemed to provide another opportunity —to assess my life’s activities.

Did I have too much clutter in my life as I went at a frantic pace, doing many things but missing what was important? Our crash in the night had two lessons for me. I needed to declutter not only my closet but also my life.

God turned a fearful event into a golden opportunity.

Praise the Lord!

Edith C. Fraser