Wildfire

Yesterday I happened to be in part of Southern California that was close to one of the fires, and I went to a meeting there. A lady compared the fire to herself when she was drinking, how similarly she affected the people around her, and I understood exactly what she meant.

You never know where the fire might start, but if the situation is just exactly wrong, it rapidly turns into an uncontrollable conflagration. Depending on the wind, one spot escapes without damage, and a few feet away is total destruction. Even if your own house is spared, it is terrifying, uncertain, and chaotic. You have to flee from it in a hurry, in a panic, instantly choosing a handful of precious items you can save. The air is poisoned for days. Rebuilding can take years, and the memory will never go away.

So many people had to respond to me the same way people have to respond to wildfire.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My prayers continue for my neighbors in California who lost loved ones, lost homes, were injured, or remain in shelters. Grateful thanks to the firefighters whose courage and skill kept the injury and destruction to such astonishing minimums.