I hope all of you had a meaningful Memorial Day. Ours ended up being very memorable in an unexpected way.
A few days beforehand, we went out to my mom’s grave and planted some flowers. We took some time to mourn, and then the talk turned, naturally, to the meaning of life. Sometimes, mourning can be a depressing task, but only if you don’t have hope.
We have hope. Not because WE are special, but because Jesus Christ is holy and perfect, and what he has done for all of us, is AMAZING. When we look back on my mom’s life, we see her faith in God by the way she lived. We see the seeds of hope and comfort she planted in the lives of others growing greater every day. We see how God brings beauty from ashes, and that brings me to the main subject.
The rest of our family met at a park in Bristol, Indiana yesterday to celebrate Memorial Day together. Unfortunately, it was really cool (59 degrees!), misty and windy, so we huddled around our cups of hot coffee and enjoyed some of Beau’s brownies.
While we were talking, the sirens started. At first, we ignored them, but it soon became obvious that they were all headed our way. We looked over the trees and saw some black smoke coming from the center of the little town that we had just driven through to get here. And the sirens just kept coming.
We were on the other side of the park in the pavilion, but we could feel the heat all the way across the park.
The first thing we did was to pray for any people or animals in harm’s way, then pray for God’s protection for the firefighters, and first responders. While most of us prayed for mercy, and for the rain to come and help put out the fire, my brother prayed more wisely for God’s will to be done.
We walked closer, and joined the throng of people at the edge of the river. At that point, all of us were mostly silent, watching in amazement as the house went up in flames.
There was a lot of talk by the river, and we heard all we ever wanted to hear and more about the history of the buildings. We also hear a lot of speculation from the onlookers. My brother had been talking to some, and came back with some “juicy” tidbits.
Both buildings were very old, and the first one had been a general store in the 1970’s. A man who’s father had owned the general store stopped and spoke with me for a moment. He described how a boat would come up the river with supplies for the store, and they would unload the boat to stock the store. Naturally, he was saddened by what was happening, and was eager to get some pictures before it was all gone.
Both structures were empty at the time, but were full of furnishings (the home) and goods (the store). While we stood there, the speculative talk continued, with tempers sometimes rising as words were exchanged.
My sister and I stood watching, and listening somewhat (how could we not?), and then she turned to me and said, “I keep thinking of that verse about the tongue, but I can’t remember the rest. ‘The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.’ And how does the rest go?”
Feeling foolish, we looked it up. Both of us had memorized that chapter in the book of James long ago when we were in school, but neither of us could seem to remember the exact words. I found it and read it out, starting in the previous verse:
“Even so, the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” James 3:5-6
The “members” spoken of in the above verses are individuals, and the “body” is the body of believers. The fire is a metaphor for gossip. The point is that the tongue has the capacity to set relationships on fire.
We thought about how the fire had started with a little puff of dark smoke above the trees, and then in just a few minutes, had turned into a raging inferno that we could feel over a football field’s length away.
The voices we heard were also like raging fires, with some folks cursing out others, and feelings being hurt, and everything being all stirred up. Oh, how I wished that I could have said something to stop the pain all around me, but I was an outsider and had no understanding of things. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, and we were just there.
I felt as useless as the little stream of water the firemen were spraying onto the second structure, trying to stop the fire from jumping. Then my sister came to my rescue with the following words.
“It’s too late when it gets to this point, but we can all learn from this. When you hear something that seems like it will start a fire: A complaint, an insinuation or even just something negative, stomp it out like you would stomp on a spark that flies out somewhere it shouldn’t be. Everything around us is tinder, basically, with fear and anger on all sides. We have to do our part to put out the fires before they begin.”
Yep. Words of wisdom from my baby sister.
I thought of how my dad characterized a person he knows: “Whenever I want to complain about something,” he said, “[this guy I know] will turn it into something good. If I say I’m upset that it rained, he says the flowers needed it.”
See how easy it is? I know that sometimes we like to complain, but perhaps we don’t realize how that negativity is affecting others around us. Being negative (or positive!) is a habit, and we can control the habits we have with a little self-discipline.
Everyday, we have the power to affect this world for good, if we allow the Lord to use us to bring joy. Yes! You can change the world, starting with the area closest to you.
Whether the “tinder” around us is fear, depression, anger, frustration, or whatever, we can respond with a dose of kindness. We can steer the conversation toward a joyful interpretation, since everything that happens has two sides to it. Think of the good that might come from whatever it is, and use that good idea to dress the bad thought with love. Not to justify evil, or keep it from being seen, but to steer our understanding toward something constructive before the gossip starts a destructive fire.
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” I Peter 4:8 (ESV)
And just for the record, I love so many of you that read this blog! Thank you for the words of encouragement, and for the stories you share about what is happening in your lives. We all need encouragement, and I sure appreciate it!
The Fullers Four 