God gave us a glorious Sabbath to enjoy His magnificent creation. We were hiking in the colorful mountain prairies behind our home. The lofty breeze felt refreshing on our faces, even though it seemed to torture the tiny flower stems below.
As we gazed in awe at the sights and sounds, we noticed a small gray haze lifting up from just behind our log cabin. It spiraled toward the sky and began to grow larger. We knew what this meant as fear gripped our hearts. Fire! We broke into a frantic run toward our home.
Reacting Without Thinking
As we breathlessly ran up to our house, our sons were already fearlessly shoveling dirt on yellow-orange flames that were consuming the dried prairie in leaps and bounds. I was appalled by the speed of the fire. Thankfully, the fire was racing away from our house, but directly toward a neighbor’s home.
All I could think was How can we get this fire stopped? The immensity of it overwhelmed me.
God seemed to impress me that everyone could be trusted to do their part. Still, as flames appeared to cover the ground 10 feet at a time, I felt hopelessness grip me. Smoke filled the air and clouded my thinking. Just then my jacket, which had been tied around my waist, fell off, giving me an idea.
“Mary!” I yelled to my daughter, “Get that pink blanket off your bed; the one with the holes in it.” I grabbed a dishpan and ran to fill it with water. Fire was expanding like spokes on a wheel. I told Mary to dip the blanket in the dishpan and stay close to me, but not too close.
For many minutes this was my corner of my world; nothing else mattered. I beat those menacing flames for all I was worth. The blanket idea seemed to be working, as I hurriedly followed the outer edge of the fire. Flames leaped at me, threatening to engulf me; I felt as though I was surrounded. I just kept throwing that blanket in the direction of the flames in defiance of their menacing attacks. The smoke made breathing unbearable.
A Bible Memory
In all the confusion the thought came to me: If God could calm the Sea of Galilee for His disciples, He could stop this fire. “Jesus,” I prayed, “You calmed the Sea of Galilee; please stop this fire!”
Shortly, as my eyes followed the edge of the flames where I was putting out my little corner of the fire, I saw only blackness where someone else had already put out the fire in that area. My gaze widened as I realized my area was no longer burning. I had no idea how long I beat at those relentless flames; this was the first pause I had taken.
I looked up to see how the rest of the fire was progressing. To my astonishment, it was out. I couldn’t see even one bright red-orange flame anywhere. All I saw was a huge area of blackness covering the ravine, up to the top of the next hill. A gray haze hovered over the area. As I struggled to get my breath, 15 or 20 people stood around the black edges where the fire had been.
What Do You Think?
1. While this story has a happy ending, how would you respond to someone who loses everything in a natural disaster such as a fire, flood, earthquake, or tornado?
2. What counsel would you give to someone who tries to explain the unexplainable? 3. What stories from your own experience indicate God's divine protection over you, a friend, or a family member? 4. What experience have you endured that made you wonder why God didn't act to protect you or your property? How did you make peace with it? |
I spied my boys, my husband, and a friend. A sea of blackness stood between us. We all wandered, exhausted, toward each other.
Our friend licked his finger and held it up, asking, “How often does the wind just totally cease in these mountains? There’s absolutely no wind! The fire just stayed in place as it reached the top of that hill. It’s like an invisible hand kept it there until everyone was able to put out their area of flames.”
Jack told us about his prayer: “I knew that with those tremendous gusts of wind, if it reached the top of the hill we’d be defeated for sure. So I prayed for the wind to cease.”
My son Peter spoke up: “Mom, I knew there weren’t enough people living near here to put it out, so I prayed for God to send helpers.” We looked in wonder at the strangers gathering—some on horseback.
When it was my turn, I hesitantly said, “I remembered how Jesus calmed the seas, so I prayed for Him to stop the fire completely.”
We all said our prayers of gratitude to our Father in heaven. Our home was safe; so was the neighbor’s. We were all dirty and tired, but spiritually we had grown as our faith in God increased.
Everybody did their part to conquer the fire. Whether it was to pray, shovel dirt, stomp the flames, or beat them with a blanket, everyone was needed, and everyone was important. God gave us the courage and strength to do what we could. His awesome grace and power is imprinted on our memories.
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Margaret Butler writes from Keokuk, Iowa. This article was published May 24, 2012.
