Our little dog Roger woke me up a few nights ago by pawing at my shoulder over and over again. When I finally woke up enough to pay attention, I could see he was shaking. I assumed it was thunder or fireworks, both usually send him into distress, and tried all the usual tricks to calm him down. Nothing worked. Eventually, I fell back asleep with a still-shaking Roger at my side.

The next day, we discovered the cause: a smoke detector with a low battery. BEEP. We removed the battery. A few minutes later: BEEP. We removed the battery from a different smoke detector. But then: BEEP. Then we were on a scavenger hunt through the house, trying to track down the source. Eventually we had removed every battery from every smoke detector in our house. BEEP. This is when we learned that smoke detectors store enough juice to keep beeping for a while, even after the battery is removed. Who knew?!

It's a wonderful feature for humans. Pretty awful for dogs.

Isn't that just how life goes? Something that is useful, enjoyable, or reassuring for me can be stressful, confusing, or even painful for someone else. The same beep that told me a smoke detector was doing its job was, for Roger, an unexplained source of fear. It made me wonder how often I assume everyone experiences the world the same way I do.

One of the things Jesus tries most to impress on us is to pay attention. To notice the world, and the people, around us. To listen. To be patient when someone reacts differently than we would. Roger couldn't explain what was wrong that night, all he could do was keep pawing at me. But I'm glad he didn't give up. He reminded me that paying attention is one of the most simple forms of love. Loving our neighbors isn't usually about having answers for someone else's distress, it's more about listening long enough to hear what someone else is experiencing. From there, maybe we can help - or maybe we can go on a scavenger hunt with them to figure out what the problem is. Either way, they aren't alone.

My prayer for you this week is for the time and patience to listen well. And when you find yourself carrying a burden or a fear you can't quite put into words for the people around you, may you remember that God hears it all so much more clearly than we do. Either way, you are never alone.

Blessings,
Jennifer