In May of this year I moved to Bellevue. I found an inexpensive one bedroom with enough storage for all my stuff. The building is an old duplex converted into four apartments – two bottom two top.
The landlord told me when I viewed the second floor apartment that the old hardwood floors intensify noise for the first floor tenants. It is actually in my lease than I am not permitted to walk in my apartment with hard soled shoes on. And boy, this man was not kidding when he said noise was intensified. My apartment is on the second floor and the laundry is in the basement. I have been in the basement and have heard my cell phone ding with a text message – while it was sitting on my dining room table.
This being said, I have always tried to be extra considerate of the lady beneath me. To make matters more complicated, she is a nurse and works all kinds of crazy schedules. I try to walk softly, I wait until she isn’t home to vacuum, I try to warn guests to not walk heavily or talk loudly. But there are two things I cannot control – my cats. My cats chase each other – mostly in the middle of the night. Mason is 15lbs. Rebecca is only 7 lbs but she can get very fast and hyper. I am sure the noise bothers my neighbor. Sometimes, it wakes me up and bothers me. I have done everything I can think of to lessen the noise for her. I have tried locking them in the bedroom with me. This makes then even more wound up. They chase each other in circles, knock things off my dresser and tear up the carpet – which makes more noise. I have tried locking one in the bedroom and one out. Well for one thing, I only have one litter box, but for another thing, whichever cat is outside the bedroom throws itself against the door – making noise. I talked to Animal Friends as well as my veterinarian and they both said the same thing – you can’t stop cats from being cats. It is just what they do.
Several weeks ago, my neighbor began banging on the ceiling when the cats would do this. I would get up and try to stop them, but each time I lay back down it would start again. This Saturday morning, at 4 am, she is banging away and began SCREAMING at me. I was up from 4 am trying to keep cats apart. Around 6 am, my doorbell rings – and it’s the cops. They came and talked to me and I am crying like a 5 year old. She told them my cats sound like German Shepherds. Maybe with these old creaky wood floors they do.
Fast forward to Monday morning. My alarm goes off at 5 am. I laid in bed until 5:20. I saw my smaller cat on the floor in the bedroom, didn’t know where the big one was. At 5:20 I stood up and literally all I did was turn around in the exact same spot to make my bed. She began banging. I was still half asleep and confused and wondered if Mason was making noise in the other room. But I heard nothing so I continued making my bed. She continued banging and screaming. Then I walked (barefoot) into my kitchen and refilled the cats water dish. More banging, more screaming. I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth…. She is banging and yelling obscenities. I have no idea what noise I am making besides running water. At that point, I called the cops. Cops talked to me and said this was the landlord’s problem. All I wanted was for her to stop banging. As soon as the cops left, she was banging again – and I was in shower!
What is even crazier than this story is my reaction. I was rattled. I don’t mean an irritated, annoyed, angered rattled – that would have been typical. I was rattled like an anxiety attack. I had a rapid heartbeat, I felt weak and nauseous, and I was shaking. Why? I have no clue. You know how they say that responses are either fight, flight, or freeze? Raquel usually only knows one of those. For some reason, this one has me in freeze.
Ok. That’s the physical story. Here is the spiritual one. I was supposed to work from home on Monday, but I was so rattled I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate, so I drove into the office. At some point during the morning, I read my Jesus Calling devotional. In this case, Jesus really was calling. The devotional for October 14th reads:
Be prepared to suffer for Me, in My Name. All suffering has meaning in My kingdom. Pain and problems are opportunities to demonstrate your trust in Me. Bearing your circumstances bravely – even thanking Me for them – is one of the highest forms of praise. This sacrifice of thanksgiving rings golden-toned bells of joy throughout heavenly realms. On earth also, your patient suffering sends out ripples of good tidings in ever-widening circles. When suffering strikes, remember that I am sovereign and that I can bring good out of everything. Do not try to run from pain or hide from problems. Instead, accept adversity in My Name, offering it up to Me for my purposes. Thus, your suffering gains meaning and draws you closer to Me. Joy emerges from the ashes of adversity through your trust and thankfulness.
This was an encouragement and a challenge. It was an encouragement because even after being in a relationship with Jesus for 25 years, it always thrills me when He speaks to me. It was a challenge because I was running from pain and hiding from problems. When I have to enter or exit my home while she is home, I get a knot in my stomach and try to gauge if I should use the front or back door. On Sunday, she was not home and I put a load of laundry in. It was in the dryer when she came home and I was afraid to go into the basement and get it – for fear of running into her. Not that she can hurt me or do anything to me. I just didn’t want the grief, the conflict. But through this devotional, the Lord told me to bear the circumstances bravely. So I will try.
Around lunchtime, I remembered the sermon from Sunday. Specifically, I recalled Pastor Scott talking about Joseph and asking that five second question. He mentioned that Joseph had suffered for half of his earthly life, but for the past 4,000 years he has enjoyed perfection in eternity with the Lord. That encouraged me and I was able to get through the rest of the day.
So I had asked the Lord to show me what He was trying to teach me through this – and I thought it was a lesson on suffering. Ok. Cool. I realized that I have been blessed. I have never had an “enemy” that I did not play a part in making. God knows my heart and He knows in this situation, my heart is pure. So ok – a lesson on suffering and praying for your enemies – got it.
Oh, but I missed it. Everything I mentioned above is true. But I was missing something and it wasn’t until I was laying on my couch last night did it hit me. The other part of Pastor Scott’s sermon. He said that justification and adoption are instant – they happen the moment we accept Christ, sanctification – the process of becoming more like Christ – is just that, a process. A lifelong process. But after he said that he reminded us that we have an enemy. And that enemy does not want us to become more like Christ. I Peter 5:8 says that our enemy is like a lion prowling around looking for someone to devour. When Pastor Scott said that on Sunday, it was a good reminder. And when I heard it, I was determined. I thought to myself that I should wake up every morning and instead of thinking about the days tasks, I should seek to spend time with Jesus because that is how we become more Christ like. I also thought that I should wake up each morning and remember that I have an enemy who wants to stop that sanctification process. So when I went to bed on Sunday, I was fiercely determined to wake up early enough to seek the Lord. I just knew the enemy was not going to pull one over on me this time. God had prepared me through Scott’s message. I heard it – and was ready to act on it….
Until an irate neighbor banged on her ceiling and called me obscenities. When I put my feet on the floor and stood up and she banged and yelled, I actually thought to myself “she is upset because I woke up and put my feet on the floor?” It was 9pm that night when it dawned on me… my enemy’s name is not Aileen. And my enemy was upset that I woke up and put my feet on the floor. And unfortunately, yesterday I didn’t recognize it and I lost my time with the Lord.
I am so thankful, then when I neglected to reach out to the Lord, He reached out to me with that devotional. Last night I felt a little embarrassed. My friend Ann Marie is in heaven with Jesus, but I heard her voice say what she used to say to me during my Bible College years – “the devil did a dance on your head, and you let him.” Sorry Lord. Its ok… His mercies are new every morning.
The evening ended with a smile. Still laying on the couch, I felt I should pray for my neighbor and this situation. But I was unsure how to pray. Well God gave us a gift for those moments and I began to utilize it. In the middle of my prayer my phone dinged. I didn’t look at it right away (yes, really) but when I did – it was a Facebook comment from my friend Pat. She mentioned that she and her husband had a bad neighbor once – and her husband would pray in the Spirit – and God took care of it. My friend posted that comment in the middle of me doing just that.
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