F-I-R-E

I have a special devotional for you this morning.  The title of it should really be "Why Citified Girls who move to a farm should NOT play with fire!"

Fire and I have not been able to get along in a really long time.  I'm pretty sure it probably started when I was child, but my earliest recollection of the problem was about 10 years ago.  I was helping coordinate the closing program for our Vacation Bible School.  I had the brilliant idea to allow the children to walk in holding sparklers. (Yes, fireworks!)  Apparently, I had not played with sparklers much in my childhood because I was completely unaware of the amount of smoke those little beauties could create.  We nearly smoked all the parents out.  As a matter of fact, one of the parents tried to record the program with a video camera after the kids took the stage with said sparklers, and you could barely see the children through the haze.  Even though I wanted to forget the whole ordeal, there in the carpet, were some holes as evidence of the embarrassing situation.

I felt like maybe my conflict with fire had been resolved with time until this past summer when, yet again, it reared its ugly head.  I was so proud of myself for preparing Paleo meat balls.  I had taken ground beef, that we raised, and made them into meat balls.  Then, I wrapped each meatball in bacon, that we raised as well, and put them on skewers to grill.  Absolutely delightful! 

It was a beautiful, summer day. I went outside on our back porch, got the bbq pit ready, and put dinner on to cook.  I just knew Billy Joe was going to love this new recipe.   He came in from work about this time, and I started telling him all about this fabulous dinner we were about to have.  Off I went to go check on the grill and what to my wondering eyes should appear..... but flames burning up our barbeque pit and wrecking havoc on my back porch!  Apparently, bacon grease and a gas grill do not mix.  Fire wins round 2.

I know it is shocking, but I just couldn't let fire win.  I was not ready to concede or surrender! 
 
Yesterday morning I got off to a good start.  Not just good, I mean a great morning!  Got up early, fixed my coffee, read my Bible, cooked breakfast, and woke the girls up for school.  We had our Bible time as a family, did a history lesson, and I sent the girls off in the 25 degree weather to feed the horses, cows, dogs, and pigs. (Don't judge-I was cleaning the kitchen, getting math lessons ready, and feeding my chickens.)

When they got back, everyone got nestled in to do a days worth of school work.  I gave instructions and set off to build a fire in our fireplace.  All was looking good.  The fire lit and was growing, and for me, this is almost a miracle from God!  (If anyone ever accuses me of being an arsonist, you know one of two things: 1.)They are lying! or 2.)The fires were set unintentionally because even my intentional fires don't burn!)  I went back into my teacher zone and left the fire to do its work.

A few minutes later we start noticing a thick layer of smoke in the room.  I look at the fire and notice smoke is pouring into the house, instead of up and out of the chimney.  Strange, that's never happened before.  I was trying to check out the situation but it was pretty complicated due to the watery, burning eyes. 

By this time, flames are licking the stone around the fireplace and headed up to the mantle.  I know there is something called a flue on there and that it might be shut, (or so I've heard!) BUT the flames are covering the lever that needed to be switched.

I am frantic.  What am I supposed to do if this fire gets out of control!?!  At what point do I need to call 9-1-1!   Instead, I try to call my husband....no answer.  I call my father-in-law.....no answer.  (I always call him in cases of emergency-just ask him! :) Once, I ran into a water faucet outside while I was mowing, our yard was getting flooded, and he came to rescue me.  Another time I backed over a kitten that I didn't see, he came and buried it!  So normally when I have a catastrophe and my husband is not available, it's Pastor to the rescue.  Today was not that day though.) 

PANIC IS SETTING IN!  I dial my mother-in-law......no answer!   I think this is serious enough to be classified as an emergency (wouldn't you!?!)  so I call my husband's boss's office.  I tell the Boss that I have a minor emergency and ask if he could please have Billy Joe call me ASAP!

I am crying by now.  I am running around like a mad woman trying to get all of my decorations off the mantle in case it catches on fire.  The girls are huddling together outside in the freezing temperatures to keep from choking on the smoke.  I have all the windows and doors open.  Smoke is billowing out every part of our house.  It has been about 5 minutes by the time my husband can get to a phone and call me back.  I quickly tell Billy Joe my quandary.  He calmly (Got to love a steady man!) goes through a few problem solving steps like check the flue, etc.  (All things that I can not do, due to the flames coming out of the fireplace.)  Then, he gives me the best advice ever. "Tera, put the fire out with some water." 

In all of my panicking, I never once thought about just simply putting the fire out!  Yes, I felt like a big idiot.  I felt like Prissy on Gone With the Wind.  "I don't know nothin' 'bout buildin' no fires!"

If you are looking for spiritual application, I have something worked up just for you. 

-Our God is a consuming fire! (Deut. 4:24)

-The Lord makes His ministers a flaming fire. (Ps. 104:4)

-The Lord will come with fire. (Is 66:15)

-He is like a refiner's fire. (Mal. 3:2)

-He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.  (Matt. 3:11)

According to these scriptures, fire can be a good thing.  I wave my white flag and surrender.......The only fire I will be dealing with from now on will be the Fire of the Holy Spirit!

(In case you are curious, with all the cold weather Billy Joe decided to close the flue to keep the cold air from creeping in.  In the two years that we have lived here and I have been trying to build fires in our lovely fireplace, our flue has never been closed.  That would be why I didn't think to check it.  The Lord must believe that I need to laugh at myself quite regularly, so I'll laugh (when I'm looking back, not during!) and allow God to use all of the dumb things I do to keep me humble!)