Panic

I think I lost a year of my life Thursday night.

(No, I am never at all even slightly dramatic; why do you ask?)

As I was driving to my small group meeting last night, I received a notification from my home security app, informing me that my front door was left open. Except, I know that I didn’t leave my front door open. Panic set in. How did my front door open? More importantly, how far is Daisy going to run?

I tried to pull up my security camera on my phone, but I was still in the car driving (admittedly very distractedly) and it was dark. Turning around and driving home was my best option.

I was panicking. I called Jon to let him know what happened. He tells me not to go into the house if the door is open, and to make sure that everything is safe first. Honestly, the thought hadn’t even occurred to me that the house may not be safe. My only thought up to this point had been about Daisy. When I hung up with Jon, I sent my neighbor a message on Facebook, in case she happened to see it before I arrived home.

Then, I prayed the rest of the way home.

When I pulled in my driveway, my door was shut. Skeptically, I walked to the door and put in my security code. The door unlocked, and the alarm disarmed. As I opened the door, Daisy ran to meet me. All was well.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord!

(But I refused to leave the house again that night. Sorry, small group!)

My church is going through a 21 Days of Prayer event. I’ve written about prayer before; I’m actively trying to improve my prayer life despite lingering struggles with how prayer works. As quick as I was to praise God that my house (more importantly, my Daisy) was safe, I went to God last when the initial distress started. I panicked, called Jon, panicked some more, messaged my neighbor, panicked again, and then prayed. (Really, Michelle – get it together).

I’ve decided that one of my goals for this year is to make going to God has natural and automatic as texting or calling a friend. Because, really, isn’t that goal of prayer? To bring us to a closer relationship with our God.