A Dangerous Fire and the Unimportance of Possessions

Two weeks ago my family and I had quite the adventure.

“Where’s all that smoke coming from?” I asked, looking up from the dining room table where I had been studying. “Someone must be burning.”

It was a hot, dry, windy day. Not the kind of day most people in my neighborhood would be inclined to have a burn pile.

Suddenly, the fire department whizzed down our street, crossing through our yards and vanishing out of sight.

What in the world is going on? I wondered, watching the vehicle disappear. My brother and Father left to investigate. When they returned, they told us we needed to get on our shoes so that we were ready to leave if the occasion arose. Behind the strip of trees in our backyard there was a field full of dry brush and grass that was on fire, two stories high and extremely close to reaching our home.

My family rushed outside to get the hose and began spraying all the areas of ground around our house while I stayed inside and watched the baby. They turned on the sprinklers and tried to soak the grass, even in the extreme heat. But that wouldn’t be much help against a huge fire. The wind wasn’t letting up, and it was blowing sparks everywhere. It was only a matter of time until something else caught fire.

As we worked, I suddenly remembered the story when Jesus calmed the winds and the seas, and the words the apostles whispered to each other recalled themselves to the forefront of my mind.

Even the winds and the sea obey Him.

God, I thought. If the winds and the sea obey you, these winds can, too. Please. Calm the winds.

Pretty soon, the fire was ten to fifteen minutes away from reaching our house. Ash flew through our yard, and smoke billowed, covering the neighborhood like a thick, acid fog. I blinked back tears of fright as I looked around at my beautiful home.

What about the big oak tree in the center of the backyard, fondly dubbed “George” when we moved in?

What about the books I’ve been collecting all my life?

What about our living room where I sit around every week with my family and do life with them?

Eventually, we decided we needed to leave the house.

As we were packing our bags to leave, my father suddenly stepped through the door, tired and sweaty.

“The firemen say that they have it under control,” he said. “We don’t have to leave the house.”

We all grinned at each other, the adrenaline still pumping through our veins.

Thank you, Lord.

That wasn’t the end of the fire, unfortunately. As I walked back into the field with my Father and siblings a few hours later to survey the damage, I found another tree on fire that, with the help of our neighbor, we had to cut down. Around nine o’clock that night my Father, Mother and brothers drove out into the field and found three more spots on fire that had to be put out. But finally, the fire was officially over.

For about an hour there, things were a little intimidating. We were in pretty serious danger of potentially losing our home and most of our belongings. But that day, as I stood and looked around at my living room for what might be one of the last times, I remembered something.

That these things weren’t important.

These things were temporary. These things weren’t lasting. These things were earthly.

We didn’t need them.

Who cared if the house burned down? Who cared if my carefully curated library was destroyed?

I still had my Mom.

I still had my Dad.

I still had my crazy, wonderful siblings.

Most of all, I had Jesus Christ.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

-Matthew 6:19-21

I’m eternally grateful that my treasure isn’t in my house. It’s in the Word that’s been hidden in my heart. I’m also grateful that I didn’t lose my house that day.

Today I encourage you to find your treasure in the things that aren’t material. When the seas of life come and when thieves break in and steal, your treasure won’t be in them. Your treasure will be in the One that the winds and the seas obey.