Smoke And Fire

What do I think about when I hear the word smoke?

Well, I see a white farm house on a very cold day. It is snuggled down beside several maple and birch trees. A Mama, Daddy and 2 kids are sitting around a glowing fireplace, but I am outside watching a curling piece of smoke drifting slowly towards the sky. That sounds cozy, doesn’t it?

What do I think about when I hear the word fire?

Mama, Daddy and the two kids still live in that white farm house. It is autumn and leaves have been falling from the maple and birch trees. Daddy raked some of them up. After dinner, they hurried outdoors to sit around the pile of leaves Daddy had raked up. Then, Daddy took a match out of his pocket and lit the pile of leaves. The fire lit up the happy faces and they started singing. Wasn’t that a cozy picture?

Well, that’s not what we see today, is it? No, today we turn on our television sets and watch whole towns burned up and fire is everywhere. My daughter and her husband were evacuated and they quickly put some things together and moved into their travel trailer. I guess I am happy they had a place to go. they moved the trailer into their son’s home.

But we have smoke! We must stay indoors, but even that is getting smoky. The states of Oregon and Washington are joining the state of California in having their states nearly consumed by wildfires. It did take our minds off the virus though. Maybe we should keep our minds on the two stories above, huh? Pray often for the folks who are really having a rough time, won’t you? Remember, God will take us through all of this. He really will!