actually it was the 'green belt'/canyon behind our neighborhood that burned...
it was one of the craziest experiences of my life....
It was Saturday afternoon and I was on the computer in our home 'office',
Beau and Wilson were also in the office, Wilson watching a movie and Beau sleeping soundly on the futon.
Madison was not home...she was swimming with a friend....
I heard a loud airplane overhead...
it sounded loud, big, and really low...
we have a small airport not too far from our house,
so we hear plans overhead... but small plans
so I began thinking...that was big and really low for the airport....
seconds latter I smell smoke...
why do I smell smoke?
I get up, look out front to the street...
it is smoky and eerily quiet...
I went to the back and our yard was filled with smoke, I couldn't see our back fence...
I yelled for Beau and Wilson...told them we were leaving, the neighborhood was on fire!
we jumped in the van (both Beau and Wilson with no shoes)...
Beau wakes up fully at this point and decides we need to know what is actually happening...
he runs out back, sees trees on fire and decides we're going to stay and fight the fire.
By this time the eerily quiet scene of our street, from moments before, has turned into chaos...
people running down the street carrying belongings,
dogs running,
kids crying,
fire trucks,
firemen,
reporters,
neighbors and strangers...
after some 'discuss-ments' Beau and I decide to stay and try to fight the fire...
We get Wilson out of the car and have him help us with hoses and stuff in the back yard...
now our backyard is like the street...
firemen...
reporter/cameraman...
strangers...
neighbors...
and then Beau tells me to call Steve..
Steve is our boss...
he's our Senior Pastor...
& most importantly he's a great friend...
so, I call & not-so-rationally tell him our neighborhood is burning down and to pray!
up to this point...the trees in our neighbors back yard were engulfed in flames...
the fire was feet away from our other neighbors fence...
the wind is blowing up the canyon towards all the houses...
the fire stopped moving forward...
against all reason...
against wind and dry grasses...
the fire stopped moving forward...
the firemen have shown up...
but really...
the fire should have burned more...
houses REALLY should be burning...
...the prayer went out...and the fire stopped moving towards all the homes...
the bombers where dropping flame retardant
and helicopters were dropping water
they saved many homes that day...
seriously...the fire came up to the neighbors stacked firewood...but did not burn it!
below is a bird's eye view of our neighborhood and the 'green belt' behind us...
(our house is the red X in the middle)...
the black is the approximate path of the fire...
it's my lovely paintshop job...so, it's not an actual picture of the fire damage...but you get the idea...
do you see ALL of the houses that the fire didn't burn...
did NOT touch...
60+ homes were threatened by this fire...
and NOT one was burned!...not one house was burned...
don't worry...I didn't take this during the chaos...
when things had calmed down...these two firemen were just casually walking down the block back to their truck..I asked for a picture with Wilson...
two of the many many blistered oak leaves that litter our lawns now (both front and back)...
we are keeping these as a reminder of Saturday...
a reminder that in chaos we need to stop and seek God first...
ironically...or maybe not so much
Steve preached about "Kingdom Challenges" on Sunday...
where Jesus & His disciples are in the boat at night and a storm comes up...
Jesus is sleeping and the disciples are freaking out...
only to wake up Jesus...not to ask for help...
but to tell Him the boat is going down...that they are all going to drown...
Jesus stopped the storm with his words...
He then looked at the disciples and said,
“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
...
hmmm...I was in that boat on Saturday...
I was in a sinking boat and Jesus was sleeping in the back...and rather than wake Him up and ask for his help...
I FREAKED OUT...
and even when I did 'wake Him up'...rather than say,
"God, you can stop this fire"...
I said..."wake up God, our neighborhood is ON fire!"
God knew there was a fire...and...
God stopped that fire!
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