FIRE!

Last Tuesday a fire broke out on the north side of town in a rural area with lots of trees called Black Forest.  In a very short time it grew out of control and required mass evacuations of people in the area.  Over the next couple days, thousands had to evacuate their homes as the fire continued to spread out of control.  Strong winds drove the flames through an area with plenty of fuel and a significant lack of water.  The picture above is from the fire.

One of the things I remember doing early on was looking at the weather forecast to see if there was any rain coming.  There was only a listing for a small chance of rain over the weekend and, at the time, that was still three days away.  I also started praying, the same kinds of prayers people all over town were praying.  Prayer for those that were having to evacuate or were in pre-evacuation areas including friends that lived in these areas.  Prayer that the firefighters would be able to get the fire under control.  Prayer for the safety of those fighting the fire, and those running from the fire.  And most of all for rain.

The Lord answers prayer my friends.  For 5 days now, starting last Friday we have had rain showers coming through town.  Definitely helping in gaining control over the fire.

Looking at the numbers being reported by the Sheriff’s Office just a little while ago, they are at 85% containment, over 14,000 acres burned, 502 houses have been listed as destroyed with several more damaged, and two people died while preparing to evacuate their home.  

The community response has been amazing.  Volunteers helping our at Red Cross Centers, donations to local food banks, people opening up their homes to take in those displaced by the fire, and others helping prepare food for the hundreds of firefighters trying to put the fire out. 

We were better prepared in some ways this year.  You see, we had a fire ravage our city a year ago.  A fire that started in the mountains west of town and after a couple days strong winds blew it down the mountain side into town, destroying almost 400 homes.  And last year the community response was amazing, reaching out to our fellow man to lend a hand.

This has me thinking.  Why does it take something like this to pull a community together?  Why don’t we do this every day?  Some people do live their lives like this, always there to help out when needed.  But how about the rest of us?  I know I am not always thinking about how I can help others but isn’t that what we are supposed to do?  Part of following Christ’s call and serving Him is to be the one that sets an example.

 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 "Let you light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

Daily prayer, devotionals, and reading the bible are important to our walk with God but we also need to make sure we are rolling these things we learn into all we do.  Our spiritual walk is not just about spending time with God.  We need to let our spiritual walk spill out into all areas of our lives.  It all ties together. 

I will be asking God to help me keep my eyes off myself and to focus more on what I can do for others.  I will also be thanking Him for the rain and for the local officials, the National Guard, the local military commands, and the fire fighters that came to fight this fire and how well they all worked together to help our community.  Finally I will be praying for those whose lives have been turned upside down by this fire.  I would like to ask you to do the same.

God bless.