I know I reported about the fires around Austin yesterday, but it has only grown worse today. There are hundreds of fires across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Hundreds of homes destroyed. Thousands are displaced. To get a feel for the scale of the largest set of fires, go here.
It is strange to be surrounded by so many out of control fires. Every year we hear about the wildfires gobbling up vast tracts of land out west in California, Wyoming and so on, and you feel bad for them, but you have your own life to live.
Then when it threatens you, you still need to live your life, but keep a close watch on what is going on around you. Fires seem to start in random places at random times. The maps of where fires are located change constantly. You don’t sleep as soundly because you want to catch any glow out the window, hear any alarm. You watch areas where you know friends live and hope their homes are alright. You prepare to house people who may need a place while they wait it out…or decide how to start over.
Most of all, you pray. You pray for rain. You pray for the wind to blow the fire back on itself. You think back to how Elijah just prayed and the rain stopped, and prayed again and it came. You wonder what it takes to move God’s Hand.
You look at the map of North America and see fires from Mexico to northernmost Canada and all across your nation, including Hawaii, and all of a sudden it hits you how big of a problem it is.
You realize anew the uncertainty of life, and also its tenacity; it’s demands to continue in spite of the obstacles. When calamity hits, you deal with it. Otherwise, you prepare, and continue living.
And you pray.
SDG
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