"Beauty for Ashes"

"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;" (Psalms 113:7)

 Whatever you might think about fire, it is not all that easy to contain. Having packed up and left the house, I witnessed the strangest thing that I have experienced yet in my life. Never before have I felt so vulnerable and confined; and yet, I was not at all worried about anything, except getting my wife to a safe place far, away from the smoke and the ashes that were overtaking our whole area. The thing that triggered me leaving was a text I received from P. G. & E. regarding our power outage. The test said, "power is expected to be restored on August 7th by 3:00 PM." It turned out that the power came back on by about two hours later, but nonetheless, I had already began packing up the RV. Within no time I was on the road, surrounded by endless lines of cars and trucks trying to flee the area. I have never witnessed such panic and disorder; there were gas stations swamped by people trying to get gas, and all the streets and freeways were jammed pack with people trying to escape the threat of the flames. Listening to the local radio station, it started out by the announcer saying that people should stay put until they are told to evacuate; but it ended up with him saying, get out as quick as you can, if you feel threatened. Obviously the fire had gotten out of the control of the firefighters and was heading off in several different directions. Homes were being consumed everywhere and the hills were on fire in at least six different areas. We had a staging area just down the street from my house, and by the time I left, passing by that area, I noticed that they had all packed up and left. Another sign that I had made the right choice! If that kind of experience does anything, it let you know how little control you have over your surroundings; not much you can do in that...

"To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory." (Isaiah 61:3) NLT