Our family sat down to eat dinner, and, as usual, we thanked the Lord for the food. Dad was working late and had our car, so it was just Mom and us seven brothers and sisters. Suddenly the lights went out!
Mom went to the front door. When she opened it, she saw fire on the hill near our house! “QUICK!” she yelled! “FORGET DINNER AND GET YOUR SHOES ON!”
We live in an area in northern California where there had been wildfires in the county for several days. The fires were growing and were threatening more than 9000 homes. They were moving closer and closer to our area, and now the hill near our house was burning! We had to get out and fast!
My six brothers and sisters and I scrambled through the house. My little sister grabbed the cats and I got the dog. That was it! Mom prayed, asking God for His help and protection.
Just then our neighbor’s handyman was driving past. My sister ran down and asked him to stop. Six of us and Mom got in his pickup truck, but I ran to get our neighbor who doesn’t drive, and she got in too. That made five passengers and one dog and two cats in the front part of the truck, plus the handyman who drove, and four passengers in the back of the pickup—ten people in all in the pickup truck plus our three pets. We drove to the next town, and it was stop and go on the highway because of the fire raging on both sides of the road. It was frightening!
This reminds me of sin and how it gets out of control and destroys people, just like a raging fire. We are warned, “Sin, when it is finished, [brings] forth death” (James 1:1515Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1:15)). But like the handyman God sent at just the right time and who helped us escape the fire, God has provided an escape from our sins through His Son Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for sinners. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:2121And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)).
About 25 miles away, we stopped at a fork in the road where there were already 400 people. There was a Moose Lodge there, and volunteers came from all over. They cooked food, set up tents and gave out blankets and pillows. We stayed in a tent in that little town for a week.
When we could finally go back to our homes, it was awful! Over 1000 homes were burned. Ours was still there, but sadly, our three neighbors’ homes were not. Our backyard was black, and the fire melted the outside of our windows, but that was all. We could see a fire hose and a pair of fire gloves that the firemen left behind as they raced off to another burning area.
We are so thankful for God’s mercy in caring for our home and the kindness of others during such a frightening time while we were living in tents and not knowing if our homes would still be there. But our God provided for our needs, and we continue to thank Him for our answered prayers and His loving care in so many ways. We are reminded of the verse in Psalm 56:33What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (Psalm 56:3): “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.” And also, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:55Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)).
ML-04/24/2016