On FIRE

I’m pretty sure we all know that fires are everywhere. 2023 was Canada’s worst year for fire risk. I heard once on a random link I found that enough of Canadian forests had been burned last year to fill up the entire New York State. At some times, couldn’t believe it.

Then I did.

May 13, 2023 brought down smoke. By that time, the Stoddart Creek Wildfire had been burning for one or two days, firefighters giving their all to protect the surrounding buildings and plantations.

(I have to admit, the fire began burning in an old fire zone from six or seven years back, so there was lots of extra dead stuff for it to eat up.)

Two days later, the entire town of Fort St. John was put under evacuation alert. Fort St. John is only half an hour south of where the Stoddart Creek Wildfire began.

This fire, which was pretty much out of control for four days was barely five miles from my home.

I lived by the grace of God and community for almost a week.

And today (May 11, 2024) it all came back.

Now, what you’re thinking is probably wrong. No, the Stoddart Creek Wildfire has not started moving again, but the Donnie Creek fire has.

Smoke has littered the entire valley I live by, causing cancellations in social events and limited visibility. To be honest, the Donnie Creek Wildfire is the largest fire in Canadian history, having grown to larger than Prince Edward Island last year.

And it was blowing smoke at me.

What’s crazy is that Donnie Creek was never put out.

What I mean is, the fire that began burning tis year is called a holdover fire, where some embers made it through the winter and started glowing when the wind began picking up.

Sometimes, embers last an entire two years which is what happened somewhere near Grande Prairie, Alberta sometime this week.

But it’s raining now.

Prayer has an effect, a way of showing us how dropping an anchor can change the course of an entire ship.

When we reach out to God, we’re not only telling Him about our worries with our own words, but communicating with passion. Think about it, when you pray, you have a mission, something—or things—you want to tell God about.

Maybe it’s praise, maybe it’s worship. And maybe it’s the worries you’ve held down for so long that it’s beginning to weigh on your chest.

In my case, it was the last option, and on the topic of fire.

On a sensitivity scale of one to ten, I’m an eight. And that doesn’t mean that everything hurts when something touches me, it means that deep down it’s uncomfortable to have something traumatic happen to something (or someone) I care about.

So fires have become pretty much my least favourite thing.

Philippians 4:6-7 says: ‘do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

So bring your problems, bring your fears to the Lord. God is always listening, He is always watching. God is always there, do not doubt Him.

Are you doubting me? Well, read Psalm 16:8. ‘I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.’

So when the fires are near, when the dark closes in, do not be afraid. God is there, with you. He will hold your hand, your right hand, where you put Him, and He will guide you back home.

Pray about your worries, pray about your fears. God listens, Jesus listens, so you have nothing to fear.

Go ahead, drop your anchor in the water, see what happens.

-Claudia