Radar Detector

 I'm certain of a few things in this life. One of them is after you have children, you will never sleep soundly again. The other is mid-life is not for the weak. I mean, every stage of life has its challenges in some respect, but sleeping-how I took that for granted all those blissful years! 

One night I awakened at my usual wee hour between 3 and 4:30am to a word- Radar. It then turned into this acrostic poem in my head- 

R eal

A ppearing

D istant

A ppearing 

R eal

Hmm... where did that come from, and what could that mean?  I often have strange thoughts in the middle of the night, and more frequently have heard song lyrics and music I've never heard before, but forget it all as I awaken. I sometimes remember a few lines, google them, and learn they don't exist. If only I could turn them into music, I may be the next big thing, who knows? All joking aside, I couldn't get the word "radar" out of my mind, or the strange phrase that followed it. 

The definition of radar in this instance is that it is used to indicate that 'someone or something has or has not come to the attention of a person or group'. What or who is or is not on this so-called "radar"?

 The word "radar" is a palindrome-a word spelled the same forward and backward, and a radar is a device that measures something by transmitting energy and measuring the echoes returned from it. In essence, a forward and backward motion. That in itself is not a new discovery, but the acrostic's meaning also followed suit. Real, appearing distant, appearing real. 

Have I lost you yet? I kinda lost myself! 

In my life, messages are never too confusing when I sit with them, dissect them, and think about what I've been up to lately. I then have to see this as something of a spiritual cue from God. When He has something to say to me, it will nag at me. Since He knows my language, He will come to me in words I will pursue. It wouldn't surprise me if the music is His too. 

 I know something else for certain-I am on God's radar. He sees what I'm going through, and he's not going to leave me hanging. I often try to isolate when I'm not doing well, and that even includes leaving God out. 

He is reminding me that He is real, and He is the One who has not been coming to my attention. 

So what is it that we need to do when we know we're not feeling like ourselves, and we can't quite figure out what's going on? Sometimes it's hard to ask for help because we don't even know what we need. It's hard to pray because we don't know what words we would even say. Sometimes we just feel defeated. It's at that point we just need to pray the simple prayer, "Help me, Lord." I guarantee He already knows the why, what, who, where, when, and all the answers. When we ask for help, He will enable us to move. I say this in a position where I don't feel like doing anything. I'm not always positive, productive, and I certainly don't always have the answers. I can only point to the One who does. Some battles we face are just going to be there to help us get to the next phase of life, or to help other people. We just need to hold on tight to the Lord, and trust Him to take control. 

I can do all things through Christ , who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13