{"id":122,"date":"2012-06-28T07:43:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T13:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/fire-on-the-mountain\/"},"modified":"2012-06-28T07:43:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-28T13:43:00","slug":"fire-on-the-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/fire-on-the-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire on the Mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
My eyes hadn\u2019t even opened and yet, with the first breath of the day, I knew something was wrong.<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
The acrid smell was smoke, infiltrating the air like a distant campfire. But this was no toasty occasion for s\u2019mores and laughter around dancing flame.<\/div>\n
The\u00a0mountain<\/a>\u00a0was on fire. And the\u00a0city<\/a>\u00a0next to it. Whipped by dry winds that carry no clouds, the rain-starved land bowed in surrender to the advancing flame. It\u2019s not the\u00a0first fire<\/a>, and it won\u2019t be the last. Almost a year now of limited rain, and our mouths are dry from the wait, the anticipation of showers but a trickle now.<\/div>\n
The fires are miles away, but the distant plume and pungent smell in my nose are reminders that I have friends who are living in the dreadful path. I turn on the television and see\u00a0images<\/a>\u00a0of the structures engulfed. Entire neighborhoods devoured and all we can do is watch.<\/div>\n
So this is what it\u2019s like to feel helpless?<\/i><\/strong><\/div>\n
The tired reporter, her hair bunched up in a ball cap, bravely tells us all lives have been spared.<\/div>\n
I think about my home and wonder what I would do if the call to evacuate came. If I had just fifteen minutes, what would I take? What would I leave behind? I gaze at my books on the shelf, some untouched for decades. My eyes fall to my mother\u2019s bible and the picture frames of people who have disappeared in my life. The furniture, television and computers are all just \u2026 things.\u00a0<\/div>\n
What do I really care about?<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n<\/a>For decades I\u2019ve accumulated, and so little of it really matters in the end. The earth will one day be purified by a similar flame, destroying much of what we think is important. This early reminder keeps us from getting too attached to things that won\u2019t last.<\/div>\n
\nSue<\/a>\u00a0reminds me to quit worrying; worry, she says, sucks up valuable brain power that could spent elsewhere.\u00a0Laura<\/a>\u00a0retells God\u2019s command to Joshua. \u201cBe strong and courageous.\u201d Like the flame\u2019s consumption of oxygen in a room, worry finds a way to take away what I need to live. And Ann\u00a0tells me<\/a>\u00a0to not run from fear, calling it holy ground.<\/div>\n
There\u2019s no other place to go when faced with the fire, the hurricane, the\u00a0consuming flood<\/a>, or the twister bearing down. It\u2019s okay to cry out. What else can you do?<\/div>\n
There\u2019s no other alternative when the call comes from the police station, or the note is left on the dresser, or the certified letter is opened. When the cells devour the body, or the brain no longer processes, or the heart just gives up, where else can I find answers?<\/div>\n
Whether it\u2019s on holy ground, or shaky ground, I cannot stand erect. The weight of earth and the majesty of heaven push me down, until I\u2019m on my knees. And there, I am no longer helpless.

<\/b>
Care to Comment? Have you ever felt helpless? Share your thoughts below.<\/b>\n<\/div>\n
Thanks to the staff of The High Calling<\/a> for running this piece and for finding these other posts about the Colorado Fire<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Photo David Rupert<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Monica Sharman\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Like the Sequoias (What Fire Can Do)<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Adam Miller\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Three Sources of Constancy and Encouragement in the Midst of Colorado\u2019s Wildfires<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Laura Parker\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>The Literal Wildfire (In Our Colorado Community)<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Laurie Geisz\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>A Prayer for My Hometown of Colorado Springs On Fire<\/a><\/p>\n

Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My eyes hadn\u2019t even opened and yet, with the first breath of the day, I knew something was wrong. The acrid smell was smoke, infiltrating the air like a distant campfire. But this was no toasty occasion for s\u2019mores and laughter around dancing flame. The\u00a0mountain\u00a0was on fire. And the\u00a0city\u00a0next to it. Whipped by dry winds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFire on the Mountain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My eyes hadn\u2019t even opened and yet, with the first breath of the day, I knew something was wrong. 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