Holy smokes! Literally. I’m looking out my living room windows right now and were it not for the green leaves on the trees, I would guess that it was a foggy winter day. I saw a Tweet this morning from our Governor stating that in the last 72 hours, California has experienced 10,849 lightning strikes, leaving no fewer than 29 wildfires in their wake. He has just declared a state of emergency. It was a beautiful distant light show at 4 in the morning the other day. Never did I consider the damage being done.
Fires
Mitch and I have been trying to conserve running the air conditioner. It finally cooled down last night so that we could open the windows again. I smelled the smoke filling the room the minute I opened the sliding glass door. Today, every flat surface in our house is covered by ash. And you have to understand, there aren’t any fires burning near us. There are just so many burning that there is a cloud of smoke over the entire state. If your state has lent resources to California to fight these fires, thank you. Can we take just a minute to pray?
Father, this has been a year of extremes. I thank You that we don’t have to be afraid. Thank You that You are mindful of our dilemmas and that we need Your care. Lord, would you give our firefighters and first responders extra measures of endurance? Would You protect them and uphold their families? Like You held back the Jordan River, Lord, please hold the fires at bay so that they may be extinguished. We put all of it in Your hands, knowing that You hear us. Amen.
Since I wrote this blog post, the Moc Fire broke out about twelve miles from our house. Several members of our church family have been encouraged to evacuate. Through prayer and His mercy, however, God has held the fire at 2800 acres and no structures have been destroyed. More and more personnel continue to arrive to help. Praise the Lord that His compassion is new every morning!
If you would like to continue to pray for California, I’d appreciate it. You can always find me at Lifting Her Voice. Thank you.
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