I want to share, what I believe to be, an amazing story that happened to me last Saturday morning.
To go back, my sister had been visiting from Hesperia, California. She was scheduled to fly out of Medford on Thursday morning. When she learned that one of my sons was moving back home after living in Idaho, and would be arriving Thursday night, she changed her flight to leave Saturday morning so she could see her nephew, whom she had not seen in a few years.
Everything worked out perfectly and we had a small family dinner Friday evening.
She needed to be at the airport very early Saturday morning, and I had set my alarm for 4:45am. When I walked into the living room Kari was up and had already been loading the car. She remarked, “It smells like wet campfire smoke out there.”
I didn’t think much about until a few minutes later I walked to the front door to let me dog in.
I too smelled the smoke.
As I turned to go back in the living room my eyes glanced out at the blackness of the outdoors through my living room and dining room windows. I live in the middle of the woods and have felt no need to put up blinds or curtains and so my eyes immediately caught a strange series of long, lights in the woods directly behind my house.
“What is that?!”
I walked to the window as I started counting these dancing, moving, low-to-the-ground lights. There was maybe a half dozen, spread out over, I don’t know… a hundred yards. What on earth?
Fire!
Fire?
It was fire in the woods, and I suddenly realized that was what we were smelling. I thought, “surely someone is on it!” But I grabbed my phone and my keys and in my nightgown and slippers I ran for my jeep.
As I traveled up the gravel road next to my property I saw more fire. As I approached I could see no one in sight.
I quickly called my neighbor, whose driveway I was now sitting in by that point. “Joe! We have a wildfire right outside!” Of course, I called 911 and then I called the neighbor to the right. What a way to wake up before 5 o’clock on a Saturday morning.
It took the fire truck 22 minutes to get there; and as I sat in my Jeep waiting to point them in the right direction, it felt like 2 hours. By the time they arrived the flames had started to climb at least one tree. I was getting very nervous. Two minutes after the firetruck, the water truck arrived and shortly after that the flames disappeared one by one.
Soon ODF was on-scene, and as darkness gave way to dawn, the woods were eerily still and smoky. And yes, it smelled exactly like wet campfire.
But here’s the thing. If my son and new daughter-in-law could have had their way, they would have been here on June 1st, but because of circumstance beyond their control they were delayed.
My sister had made her travel plans long before knowing when my son was going to arrive, but after learning she would miss him by 12 hours, she decided to stay.
Because she decided to stay, I was up at 4:45 on a Saturday morning. And although my alarm is set for 3:55am weekdays, it is not set that early on Saturday.
It’s not impossible to imagine that I may have been up that early on a Saturday, but what if…
What if those fires had burned unnoticed for one more hour? or more. What if those flames had climbed just one pine tree? What if.
We will never know, but knowing Jesus the way I do, I like to think He had something to do with the planning and orchestrating of that specific moment in my life and the lives of my neighbors.
Once the “smoke cleared” and I was able to reflect and relax, my heart filled with gratitude. Thank you Father! Thank you Jesus! Thank you!!
Psalm 143:8 says, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” ESB
He is someone we can put our entire trust into. He has a plan beyond anything we could orchestrate. As a mother, I would have moved mountains for my son and daughter-in-law so they could be here when they desired to be here, but our Heavenly Father said, “I have a better idea. I have this all worked out. Trust Me.”
Wildfires. Forest Fires. Conflagration. When fire is out of control it is scary. It’s destructive and often untamable. It leaves charred buildings and trees in its wake. It leaves death. But it always provides a way for life.
Did you know there are some seeds that only germinate when they have been burned with wildfire? It seems so counterintuitive, but it’s true.
According to national forests dot org, the actual seeds of many plants in fire-prone environments need fire, directly or indirectly, to germinate. These plants produce seeds with a tough coating that can lay dormant, awaiting a fire, for several years. Whether it is the intense heat of the fire, exposure to chemicals from smoke or exposure to nutrients in the ground after fire, these seeds depend on fire to break their dormancy. Notable examples of shrubs with this particular fire adaptation include Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn family, including Ceanothus, Coffeeberry, and Redberry) that grow in the California chaparral and other ecosystems of the American West.
Also:
The Marin Pine (native to southwestern Europe and the Mediterranean regions).
The Cork Oak, (found in France around the Mediterranean) Eucalyptus, (native to Australia.
Proteas (native to Australia and South Africa.)
And Sequoias, an evergreen tree native to the mountain forests of California, also need a flaming element to release their seeds.
Isn’t that amazing that through fire and destruction comes life, and healthier life at that!
Jesus made a very bold statement that the good doctor recorded in Luke 12.
The chapter begins with “many thousands of people” gathering. Please note: This was not a peaceful gathering as one might imagine.
Verse 1 says “they were trampling one another.”
It is at this point, with thousands of people jockeying for position, that Jesus turns to his disciples and starts speaking to them. He warns them of ‘the leaven of the Pharisees.’ He encourages them to not be afraid of death or to be anxious about anything, including what they will eat or what they will wear. He shares the parable of the rich fool, and He admonishes them to be ready for His return. And then verse 49: “I came to cast fire on the earth…”
What did He mean by that? We will look at that in more detail tomorrow. But for now,
Jeremiah describes His word as fire, like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. Jeremiah 23:29
God’s word does to the shell of our heart, what wildfire does to the shell of those seeds. It breaks open a hard exterior to reveal the soft possibility of a spout inside. Now, with the right nutrients and enough water, that seed will become exactly what God designed it to be. Whether a blade of grass or a mighty Redwood, created by Jesus for a purpose.
That’s you and me friend. Each of us, created in His likeness, to do something good on earth. And that ‘good’ thing is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” 2 Corinthians 9:10 ESV
by Jeanette Stark – Tuesday, June 13, 2023
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