My conclusion was premature. God did indeed choose that day as the first time the alarm would fail, but it began acting up regularly not long after.
I started looking for a new clock, but it made me sad. The old clock is a Westclox quartz alarm I bought a decade and a half ago, the year before my mother died. Its paint is now somewhat scuffed up in spots, but it keeps perfect time.
One day in a second-hand store, I saw a virtually new alarm clock, similar in style to the old one but slightly bigger and with a silver exterior. I recognized the brand as being from Canadian Tire. Not nearly as emotionally satisfying to me as a classic Westclox, but still, a beautiful clock. It was marked $2. I thanked the Lord for this sweet gift and took it home.
The new clock has a very functional, VERY loud alarm. I put it on my bedroom dresser and moved the old Westclox to another room.
A couple of days later, I was astonished to notice that the new clock had gotten radically off time. I can't remember whether it had gained or lost time, but it was twenty to forty minutes out of sync. I put a new battery in it and reset it to the correct time. This held for a short while, but the intermittent craziness resumed.
Disappointed, I wondered aloud if the Lord had really intended that clock for me after all. It was clear now why someone had given it away.
I decided that until I could get a proper new clock, I would use both clocks side-by-side. One would keep the correct time; the other would be my alarm clock. I realized this ran a slight risk, since the alarm half of this team was known to be unpredictable, but I figured the odds were still good that it would hold the correct time for eight hours.
I placed the two clocks on my dresser. It looks rather curious, two clocks side-by-side, but I quite enjoy the unexpectedness of it.
It's been maybe five months now since I did this. For the first few weeks, I kept expecting the newer clock to lose its mind again. This never happened. I know it sounds far-fetched, but the new clock seems to have gotten in sync with the "heartbeat" of the old clock. They work as a team now, keeping perfect time together. If I were to separate them again, I'm quite certain the newer clock would return to its erratic ways and become useless. What good is a great alarm on a clock that keeps bad time?
Tonight the metaphor came into focus. The two clocks are a picture of the Christian life. Whatever bells and whistles we may have, we can never keep holy time. Jesus' "heartbeat" regulates our own as we surrender to Him and walk in obedience and trust. Unyoked from Him in daily practice, we would return to our erratic ways and become effectively useless in His work. What good is a "great Christian" who is out of sync with the Lord Himself?
We would also lose something very profound experientially, for it's His "heartbeat" that is accomplishing our holy metamorphosis.
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Matthew 11:29