The Comedy in a Power Failure

The power went out just before 9 p.m. the other night and it was over 80 degrees outside, but that's not the worst of it. An alarm went off in the house ... and Hubby was out of town. Yeah, razzlefats!

Actually, some of the lights were on real low (a brown out?). I discover the crazy shrieking and beeping driving me nutso is the smoke alarm in the hall by our bedroom. No way to sleep with all that noise.

I grab my cell and call Hubby to tell him what happened. "What do I do?" I ask. He says, "If the alarm battery 's low, it goes off." I think he meant on... "You can try to change it," he tells me.

Great! Lantern in hand, I walk into the hot garage, get the metal ladder and bring it into the hall and set it in place. Up I climb. I try to pull the cover off the alarm. It won't budge. Down the ladder.

Call Hubby again. He can't remember how to get it off. He thinks you pull on it. "I already tried. Didn't work." My cell phone starts beeping (the low battery signal). I say I'll try again.

Back up the ladder.

After another failed attempt, I grab a flashlight. Instructions on the alarm cover says, "Do not pull off." Great! So what am I supposed to do? Please help me, Lord. I stand on my tippy toes on the ladder with the flashlight, squinting to read the small letters. It says turn, with an arrow pointing counter clockwise.

Finally, it pops off. I brought two types of batteries with me from the mud room. Neither are the right type. :/ Grrrr. Disconnect unit from power source. Down the ladder. Grab lantern, return to mud room and see if we have the right batteries on hand. Yes!

With some difficulty, I install the battery, and up the ladder I go.

Though I strain to get the cover back on it won't connect. Craning my neck, I use the flashlight to see which way I turned it the first time. No wonder, wrong direction... Try again and do it the right way. Sweat trickles down my back.

Whew, I got it. I swipe perspiration from my forehead. What! Are you kidding me? Why's it still alarming?

I back down the ladder and look up. Stop beeping! Shaking my head, I decide I may as well take the ladder back to the garage.

But wait, there, the power outlet on the wall, a red light. Why didn't I notice it before? Could it be? After all my hard work? I unplug the carbon monoxide detector. The beeping and shrieking stop.

A few minutes later, a little after 10 p.m., the power comes back on … what a night.

Aren't you thankful we have the Light of the world as our guide, and that His power never fails?


John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world, Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"


Love & Blessings,
Danie Marie