Have you ever wondered why some products have the most absurd and unnecessary warning labels? For example, the second warning label on the iPod shuffle says, “Do not eat the iPod shuffle.” Okay. Under the care and safety label for Scrubbing Bubbles shower cleaner, it says, “Not a body wash.” Got it. I remember back in my restaurant days, I used to wonder why the Hobart slicer we used to slice vegetables would say, “Not for body parts.” Gross.

It makes you wonder what happened to precipitate the need for these warnings. They seem so obvious. But as I said in an earlier post, common sense isn’t all that common. I shouldn’t cast judgment on others who may need these warning labels. I quite often ignore the most obvious ones myself and have to learn the hard way.

Maybe if everywhere I turned and visibly saw a warning label that read, “YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL,” I would heed the caution and tread lightly. Yesterday, I was again reminded of why this warning label is so necessary. On the way to church, my husband provided me with feedback about a specific instance in which I had not truly listened to him. Once in the parking lot, I asked him to take Lexi in so I could sit in the car, drink my coffee, and have some private time to reflect and pray.

My husband locked me in with the car clicker so that “someone wouldn’t steal me” from the car. It’s a cute habit. I stayed for several minutes and felt at peace…until I tried to open the door. The car apparently thought someone was breaking in and set off the car alarm. It’s loud when you’re an observer walking by, but it’s even louder when you’re trapped inside. I pushed every button in the car trying to get that thing to turn off. I tried to manually unlock the doors and get out, but it immediately locked again. I was truly trapped. So what did I do? I ducked because I saw my friends in the parking lot and didn’t want any witnesses to this ridiculous situation.

Then I remembered, ‘YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL.” Nope. No, I wasn’t. I needed some help-fast! No matter how much I wanted to figure it out myself, I could not. I called my hubby, but wasn’t sure if he had his phone on him. I left a message for him to come “save me.” I decided instead of ducking and hiding, I needed to sit still and just be. My friends might actually be able to see me in a time of need and help. Even if my husband didn’t come for a while, I would be more than alright. You can still have peace while a car alarm is going off.

He came back for me. I admit that it was a funny situation, but I thought about the lesson from it all day.

I’m not going to laugh at absurd warning labels anymore. They’re not absurd to the people who need them the most. I need to print out labels that read “YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL” and attach them to my mirrors, my clothes, my desk, my car, etc…Maybe then, I’d get the message.

If you had one defining warning label for your life, what would it say?