It’s all that spider’s fault.

There I was, sleeping enthusiastically, dreaming about something that I can’t remember, and being replenished, when suddenly the smoke alarm went off last night. I was very rudely awakened by the ear-piercing beeping and staggered out of bed and onto the landing where the alarm was located. It kept screaming at me for a few seconds and then going quiet, then resuming the alarming purpose for which it has been installed.

It was clear that there was no fire and there was no smoke. I suspected that some local wildlife had infiltrated the alarm and accidentally made the connection inside. I tried to open the cover but in my haste to find out what was happening I did not put on my glasses and was struggling to see where the catch was. I fumbled around for a while and, just as I was about to open the cover, the culprit emerged.

A tiny spider sheepishly sneaked out of the cover and scuttled across the top (or is it bottom) of the alarm. I flicked him away, confident that I had sorted out the problem. I then staggered back to bed and flopped back onto the pillow in the hope that I could resume where I had left off.

The good news was that the alarm did not sound again. It was clearly the spider who was the culprit (why did he choose the middle of the night rather than the day?).

The bad news was that I found it very difficult to get back to sleep again and so today am feeling a bit groggy as a result of spider-initiated-sleep deprivation.

It’s often the little things isn’t it? The seemingly insignificant things that can disrupt our life. The lack of change for the car park leaving you in the dilemma of whether to leave the car there to get some change so you can come back and buy a ticket, hoping that the inspector won’t call in your absence, or whether you drive off somewhere else. The phone that runs out of battery at a crucial time in a conversation, or when you need to make an important call. The bin bag that splits, distributing the smelly contents all over the kitchen floor, just as you were getting ready to leave the house, putting the rubbish out on the way. The spider that sneaks into the smoke alarm in the middle of the night. The piece of gossip that you pass on to someone ‘for prayer’ and leaves the subject feeling hurt and betrayed.

Be blessed, be a blessing.