Do you ever hear noises in the night that make you suspicious that your serenity has just been interrupted? That happened to me yesterday evening at my youngest son’s house.

The three grandkids had trudged off to bed around eight. Slightly after nine, Jeremiah left to go help a friend move a freezer. Misty headed to bed about the same time that Jeremiah left. Thus I was left alone to fend for my own entertainments.

Thanks to closed captioning, I watched TV with the volume set low enough that it would not impede the nocturnal recovery efforts of those others still left in the house.

After about 20 minutes, I heard a noise outside the window in the carport. Knowing that Jeremiah had a few tools sitting out there, I got up to investigate. It was, of course, a very low effort investigation. I turned on the porch light and looked out, and saw nothing to suggest disturbance. So, I turned the light back off and returned to watching TV.

After another 10 to 15 minutes, i again heard noise coming from that same corner of the house. This time. I turned on the front porch light, opened the door and looked out.

Again, nothing. Well, there was lots of stuff. Houses, cars, street, trees, grass and sundry other items such as one sees in such a neighborhood But nothing to indicate someone was prowling around the house.

It would be an exaggeration to say at this point that I was alarmed. However, it would not be an extravagant exaggeration. Still, I managed to settle myself down enough to resume watching TV.

Then, just a few minutes later, I heard more noises coming from that same area. However, with a slight degree of self embarrassment, I remembered that their fifteen-year- Labrador Retriever was sleeping behind the couch.

There are many things in this life that alarm and disturb us, until we realize their true source and their true nature. Conversely, there are some other things that do not bother us until we reach a similar point of understanding.

May the Lord who stilled the seas and walked upon the waters give us wisdom and peace in all situations.

H. Arnett