When God Gives Me a Heads' Up

It has taken most of my 70 years on this earth to catch on to when God is giving me a heads' up, a tip that I need to do something, about something, soon. Until this past few years, I always noticed his hints and clues in hindsight.

That was a little frustrating. My mind used to dwell on thoughts like, "Gee, I should have seen that coming," and "Wow, I should have read the clues."

These days, I try to be a little more alert to when he is trying to nudge me into action.

Instead of complaining when my washer began growling at the start of each cycle, about two months ago, I caught on. "Aha," says me, the slightly wiser one, "it's still working but I need to start planning a replacement."

About a week ago, the dryer began thunk-thunking after 20-30 minutes into a cycle. "Aha," says me, the slightly wiser but now more worried one, "it's still working but I need to do something about BOTH of them, SOON."

My middle-aged nephew and I examined the household budget (that is a laugh - there is NO budget) and did some quick comparison shopping a few days ago. The dryer sounds worse, so we'll get that this month, and a matching washer next month.

The last washer and dryer were not new and only cost $75 each, back in 2001. We got our money's worth. This time, we'll get a new set with warranties.

The washer and dryer are just one example. We are trying to look at any surprise and breakdown in equipment as a forewarning, a very welcome hint that we need to prepare to do something before it is too late. Too late, for us, would be if we had to buy something the very day something broke down.

Father, thank you so much for helping us with a little forewarning on some of life's inconveniences.