Familiarity

Last night I forced myself to write a few hundred more words on my WIP before going to bed, even though fatigue (let's make that exhaustion) was catching up with me.  No, actually it had already caught me.  Point being, all I wanted was to close my eyes, but there was this awful squawking, squeaking, cacophony of snorts going on in my bedroom that would not let me sleep.  Yes, it must be hay fever season!  I can put up with a lot of things, but snoring is not one of them.
A few good kicks in the backside of the perpetrator did no good whatsoever, so calmly, sleepily, I might add, I pick up my Christmas print fleece blanket and move to another room.  My son is away at college and his room doesn't get much use these days.  But there is a perfectly good bed in there and I intend to make good use of it.  I wonder briefly if the sheets are clean, then decide I'll just lay on top.  It's a warm night and I didn't bring my fan with me.
So, there I am on this strange bed.  It doesn't feel as nice as my bed.  It's firmer and the pillow is flat. Really flat.  All the good pillows are away at college with him.  I can hear the CPAP across the hall that belongs to son #2.  Hmm....it's louder in here.  There is a window by my head where the street light shines right into my eyes from a crack in the curtain when I  turn towards it.  I turn over.  I am staring at the side of a dresser that blocks my view of anything else.  Son #3 certainly has a lot of stuff crammed into this space we call his room.
Despite everything I am about to fall asleep when PLOP!  Something lands on my feet. It's that cat!  Jake is the one we have adapted the famous Veggie Tales pirate song for.  "He is the kitty that doesn't do anything.  He just stays home and lies around.  And if you ask him to do anything.  He'll just tell you, he doesn't do anything."  He's no pirate, but otherwise that song could have been written for him.  He doesn't care that his overweight body is laying on my feet and moving him is out of the realm of possibility.  It's me that has to move.  I try, but there's that street light again.  Whose dog is barking?  Oh, dear!  It's mine. Angel, please be quiet!  She gets so excited about the neighbor's cats that wander around.  She needs to get a life - something besides barking and cat watching.
So, back to the story.  I'm lying there, yonder CPAP humming, cat purring, me curled up in a tight ball to accommodate him, light in my eyes, wishing the mattress wasn't quite so firm, getting kind of warm and wondering if the snoring might be preferable.  Then this revelation dawns.  When my son is home, this is his familiar.  This is what's comfortable to him.  Is he lying in bed in his dorm room wishing he was in his bed at home?  (Well, probably not, I don't think he sleeps much there, but you get the point).  We all have things that are familiar to us and other things that feel strange.
I think God planned it that way so we can help others through this life.  Have you been through some trial that now qualifies you to help someone else go through the same thing?  Then help them!  Do you know someone who has 'been there-done that' in whatever you're experiencing right now?  Ask them for advice.  To borrow a title from a book I like - "We really do need each other."  Don't fight it.  Don't ignore it.  Don't push it under the rug (or the heavy cat).  Reach out to someone.  Stand in the gap for them.  Use the lessons you have learned to help someone else learn.  You will be amazed at the blessings that flow both ways when you do.
P.S.  I finally decided on the snoring - much more familiar! (Yawn!)