Holding On or Letting Go

 I'm out on my patio again. The air is cool - 70 degrees F. and I don't smell smoke. It's there, but it's high and not sinking down in the heat yet.

Everything is quiet except man and his machines, mostly motorcycles. The only signs of life -  micro life, that is -  are a sow bug that's not moving and a busy spider-like creature.

A humming bird comes to our feeder, tastes what is offered and flies away. No wonder. The ants have found our feeder again. They cleverly climb the posts, cross the beam and go down the wire that the feeder hangs from. Then they clog the feeding holes, gorging themselves on free sugar-water. Bill decided to outsmart them by covering the wire with two-sided Scotch Tape, hoping for a result like tar paper or Sticky Paws, but it hasn't deterred them.

I look back at the sow bug and discover he's on his back kicking furiously with all his legs. I wonder how many legs he has. I also wonder if he can right himself.

I hear there's another storm heading up the California coast. It may have dry lightning like the last storm which ignited fires in our foothills and magnificent redwoods. It is yet to be seen how that will turn out. And now more?

My thoughts go to the story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee when his disciples woke him with their cries, "Master, don't you care that we are drowning?" Jesus told the storm, "Peace, be still," and the disciples marveled that he was master even over the wind and waves.

We are fighting a pandemic which all of a sudden seems dwarfed by these wildfires. Then we hear of two hurricanes which may strike our southern border at the same time. "Acts of God" they are called. But I like Peter's answer when Jesus asked if he wanted to leave him and follow the disheartened crowd, "If I leave you, to whom shall I go?"

I also remember how Satan buffeted Job with wave after wave of disaster hoping to turn him away from his faith in a gracious God. Job's livelihood was taken, his family died, and he was covered with open sores. Even his wife said, "Curse God and die." But Job clung to his hope of a living Redeemer.

I see my little sow bug has all but ceased kicking, so I reach down with my napkin and he hangs on. He doesn't move, he just clings. I watch him. Soon his little front feelers move in exploration. He appears to be OK so I relocate him to some dewy lawn and go in  the house to get ready for virtual church.

Fires and Bad Air

 Today I'm back out on my patio. The air is cool, pushing 70 degrees F, and although the sky is still overcast with smoke, I can't smell it. Three days ago when I came out here, the air was brown. When the sun came up, everything looked orange, like looking through brown-tinted sunglasses. Yesterday the air was lightly cooler but had a strong pungent acrid odor. I didn't come out.

This is California. This is the central valley. This is August and it's supposed to be hot, but we've had record temperatures, most between 100 and 110 with a few above that, for over a week.

This is also wild fire season. (I've split that word because these fires are indeed wild.) Most are due to lightning strikes in the mountains. It causes me to wonder who is in charge of lightning - God or Satan? Surely it is God because He is master over all creation.

Right now there is a fire dangerously close to my favorite vacation spot - a Christian camp called Mt. Hermon. Our family spent a week of our summer vacation every year at Mt. Hermon for many years as our family grew up. What a tragedy it would be for this place of spiritual renewal filled with majestic redwood groves and unique yellow banana slugs if it were destroyed by a wild fire.

I have not heard any current news on the fire this morning and I feel rather like Frances Scott Key when he penned the words, "Oh say does that Star Spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

It is cooler today. In fact there is a little breeze to blow the smoke out of our valley. Does that portend good news? Does Mt Hermon still beacon the weary to come, be refreshed in the redwoods covered in the early morning mist? Come with me. We'll go see if the banana slugs are still awake.

Insightfully yours,

Paulita