Through the Fire, Part Two

 

 

I woke up last Friday morning, with a tired body, a grateful heart, and a wary mind. While it appeared that the fire was no longer an immient threat, it was still burning. M and I decided that we would allow Joycie to stay in town with my parents (therby reducing her exposure to the smoke), leave our vehicles packed  (in case we needed to evacuate again), and go to work.

 

The first few hours of my work day were spent alternating work with telling my various co-workers about the previous night's events. Each and every one of them showed a huge amount of concern, and they each offered to keep praying for the safety of our home.  Around 11:30, my father-in-law, who happens to work with me, received a call that the fires had started back up – and it seemed as though our homes were once again in danger.

 

I called M to give him the news, and then rode home with my FIL. The rest of the afternoon was spent with our eyes on the tree line – watching the shifting smoke, preparing to leave at a moment's notice. Finally, late Friday night, it was determined that the fires were contained and not likely to threaten us again. 

 

 Saturday was spent unloading our vehicles, clearing the ash from our yard, and just enjoying being with family. On Sunday, our church elected to suspend our evening services, and instead gathered together to feed the hundreds of firefighters, forestry workers, policemen, and volunteers – who had been working so hard to spare our community from destruction.

 

As each one of them came by the dessert table where I was serving, they offered me a sincere thank you. And each time I replied " I should be thanking you. Your service has saved our homes."

 

The fire burned within a quarter mile of my home. A quarter mile – that's a distance that I can normally run in just a few minutes. It would have taken the fire mere seconds to cover that distance – if not for two things:

 

1. God's Grace
2. The hardwork of the firefighters.

 

I will never forget either one of those things.