"Nichols" Law

We have all heard of Murphy's Laws. I don't really even know who Murphy was or how his laws came about, but I do know that in our family we have what I call Nichols' Law. It states that ~anything and everything that can go wrong, will go wrong when Bob is gone!~

It is so very true, and I am not the only military wife I have heard make this same statement about their husbands absence. When I thought about this last night, I started going through all the things that have gone wrong over the years when Bob happens to be away, and I surprised myself with how much there really was to add to the list.

I can say for sure that we have had numerous visits to the emergency room while dad has been gone. Brady had stitches once and another time a fever that was so high he started having Febrile seizures. When Zack had bleeding while urinating, dad was away and missed that trip to the ER. Even our dog Maggie had an emergency trip to the vet when Bob returned from a TDY and found bumps and open sores on her head from what looked like a snake bite. I can't even begin to count the minor incidents like the times when the car would not start, or I locked my keys in the car. (I had to pay a lock smith while Bob was away just last month!!) Even major events like my devastating miscarriage last year happened when Bob was not here and I wasn't even able to get a hold of him. Several years ago Bob was deployed when his Dad had a heart attack. Bob was even gone at OTS on the scary day of September 11th. Then of course just this week we had the death of poor little Oreo!! The list just goes on!

The thing that made me think on this today is that even as I write this, I have an appointment set up with an electrician this afternoon because the lights in this part of the house are flickering and the breaker box is making sparks when the lights are turned on! As much as I hate to pay someone when normally Bob would try to look at it himself, he (of course) isn't here, and the last thing I need to add to this list is a house fire!!

Even Bob has asked "Why in the world does everything go wrong when I am not home??"

It is Nichols' Law I tell you.

But, after contemplating this a while, I realized that I think it has to do with my relationship with the Lord. Normally Bob is the first one I go to when I have a problem. I frantically call him whenever I can asking "what do I do???" He happens to be the calm one in our family, so he will usually give me sound logical advise, even in the midst of my panic. But the part that I forget is that when Bob is not here God still is. I think that might be why God has so many things go wrong when Bob is away. It is His chance to remind me that He is the first one I should go to in the face of a problem.

I heard this little saying once that I just love..."Run to the throne before the phone" We can use that same idea when we are tempted to call a friend in the face of a dilemma. There are often times when an "emotional" or "girly" issue comes up that I know Bob is not interested in hearing about, but I am just dying to call and bend the ear of a friend. I think that is ok, but I think God really longs to be the first one I go to. If I practice this more often, I think it will release a bit of the burden off of Bob as well. Usually when Bob is away it is because he is deployed and working very hard, or at school and over his head in stress. Maybe if I remember to run to the throne first, then by time I get to the phone I will be able to say....."Hey honey, the lights in the house are flickering and I think the breaker box is about to catch on fire, but don't worry I have it under control!! " Seeking God first.....isn't that what this blog is all about!