This is the traditional season for thankfulness and gratitude. I tend to pause during this time to consider this at least on some level. I try to delve into the subject as deep as I can manage with the goal being to allow it steep into every fiber of my being. I can't say I am perfect in this regard. As it is with everything I have good moments and bad.
This year has been more challenging than most to find the time for much more than a surface level and cursory view of the subject. This hasn't been, because I did not wish to. Rather it was the result of my life equation being out of balance in a definitely negative direction. I have been spending my time running from one five star problem to the next. If I were honest, I would have to admit I have not made much headway on any of it.
This morning in the wee hours of essentially ohmygawditstooearly for this, I got a screwed up wake up call. I mean that in the literal sense of the word. A little after six this morning, I awoke to someone pounding on our front door. Now given at this point I was running on maybe three hours of sleep, work priorities ran into the early portion of the wee hours.
Let me be clear, I know that urgent notifications at this point of the morning are never good news. Publishers Clearinghouse has never pounded on my door at this hour to announce I have won a prize. I understand that this is usually to notify us that something awful either has happened or is happening. I get that good news tends to arrive at a decent hour when sun is shining.
This was a neighbor of our checking on us and notifying us of a fire nearby. His insistent pounding on the door made us aware that our neighbor behind us had a fire. Everyone in the family woke up, and found the fire behind us to be fully engorged. Our neighbor's garage had caught fire.
Words cannot describe what I found when I went to the back window of the house. I could feel a raging fire through the triple pane windows of my house. I could only see the fire and the smoke. Everything beyond the fire was obscured in smoke.
For a moment I considered attempting to do something. That thought evaporated when I opened the door and felt the oppressive nature of the heat. Then I heard a series of booms and bangs, which told me that there were things in the realm of the fire that were excessively combustible and were feeding an already horrible moment. I had to pause and realize all I could do was make sure the fire didn't spread onto my property. About this point I hear the sirens of the fire department, and saw them arrive and deal with the problem in short order.
As the smoke cleared and the sun rose, the house was not burned. My property was largely untouched. My neighbor lost four cars, a garage, and everything inside it. The good news was that no one was harmed. All the residents of the house and their animals were in good shape. Given the possibilities of such an event, that was the best outcome if something like that has to happen.
The event in and of itself set to wondering, as things like this always do. The fire put all of the stuff I struggle with on the day to day basis in better perspective. I deal with a lot of crap in a given day. Some of it has been and continues to be serious, but I am not struggling with a burning house or garage. I am not now having to deal with the intricacies of making an insurance claim. I am not trying to figure out what was lost.
Before you think me a particularly craven sort of person, only concerned with myself... I did check on my neighbor later on in the day. They are all fine. ther were insured fully for this event. Their insurance company had already been to see them and rental cars and initial checks for immediate damages had already been written. So they are fine in the immediate sense. They will be walking through the process of clearing up the damage and starting over again in the coming weeks. This is a good thing.
The event reminded me of some simple things. I have been and continue to be blessed beyond my ability to fully comprehend. My struggles being what they are reside within the realm of being resolved. Even if they weren't I reside in the presence of a God that hems me in on all sides. In tough times my God is there.
This wake up call was jarring. And it made for a completely different day than the one I was thinking I was going to have. It was a sort of interrupt to the normal stuff. It forced me to remember and be grateful for all that is within the sum total of my life. It forced a different tone to my season of thanksgiving.
It forced me to move beyond the superficial aspects of this season. It forced me to remember who I am and whose I am. It forced me to remember my placement is not accidental by any means. It forced me to remember that in all things God is there. It forced me to remember that my creator has my back in all things. It forced me to remember that it is in the context of this most primary and primal relationship that my worth and my value is determined.
I find myself praising God in this moment. I find myself driven to my knees in thankfulness. I hope that your season of thanksgiving does not require such a wake up call. Allow me to extend a warm happy thanksgiving to you all.
This year has been more challenging than most to find the time for much more than a surface level and cursory view of the subject. This hasn't been, because I did not wish to. Rather it was the result of my life equation being out of balance in a definitely negative direction. I have been spending my time running from one five star problem to the next. If I were honest, I would have to admit I have not made much headway on any of it.
This morning in the wee hours of essentially ohmygawditstooearly for this, I got a screwed up wake up call. I mean that in the literal sense of the word. A little after six this morning, I awoke to someone pounding on our front door. Now given at this point I was running on maybe three hours of sleep, work priorities ran into the early portion of the wee hours.
Let me be clear, I know that urgent notifications at this point of the morning are never good news. Publishers Clearinghouse has never pounded on my door at this hour to announce I have won a prize. I understand that this is usually to notify us that something awful either has happened or is happening. I get that good news tends to arrive at a decent hour when sun is shining.
This was a neighbor of our checking on us and notifying us of a fire nearby. His insistent pounding on the door made us aware that our neighbor behind us had a fire. Everyone in the family woke up, and found the fire behind us to be fully engorged. Our neighbor's garage had caught fire.
Words cannot describe what I found when I went to the back window of the house. I could feel a raging fire through the triple pane windows of my house. I could only see the fire and the smoke. Everything beyond the fire was obscured in smoke.
For a moment I considered attempting to do something. That thought evaporated when I opened the door and felt the oppressive nature of the heat. Then I heard a series of booms and bangs, which told me that there were things in the realm of the fire that were excessively combustible and were feeding an already horrible moment. I had to pause and realize all I could do was make sure the fire didn't spread onto my property. About this point I hear the sirens of the fire department, and saw them arrive and deal with the problem in short order.
As the smoke cleared and the sun rose, the house was not burned. My property was largely untouched. My neighbor lost four cars, a garage, and everything inside it. The good news was that no one was harmed. All the residents of the house and their animals were in good shape. Given the possibilities of such an event, that was the best outcome if something like that has to happen.
The event in and of itself set to wondering, as things like this always do. The fire put all of the stuff I struggle with on the day to day basis in better perspective. I deal with a lot of crap in a given day. Some of it has been and continues to be serious, but I am not struggling with a burning house or garage. I am not now having to deal with the intricacies of making an insurance claim. I am not trying to figure out what was lost.
Before you think me a particularly craven sort of person, only concerned with myself... I did check on my neighbor later on in the day. They are all fine. ther were insured fully for this event. Their insurance company had already been to see them and rental cars and initial checks for immediate damages had already been written. So they are fine in the immediate sense. They will be walking through the process of clearing up the damage and starting over again in the coming weeks. This is a good thing.
The event reminded me of some simple things. I have been and continue to be blessed beyond my ability to fully comprehend. My struggles being what they are reside within the realm of being resolved. Even if they weren't I reside in the presence of a God that hems me in on all sides. In tough times my God is there.
This wake up call was jarring. And it made for a completely different day than the one I was thinking I was going to have. It was a sort of interrupt to the normal stuff. It forced me to remember and be grateful for all that is within the sum total of my life. It forced a different tone to my season of thanksgiving.
It forced me to move beyond the superficial aspects of this season. It forced me to remember who I am and whose I am. It forced me to remember my placement is not accidental by any means. It forced me to remember that in all things God is there. It forced me to remember that my creator has my back in all things. It forced me to remember that it is in the context of this most primary and primal relationship that my worth and my value is determined.
I find myself praising God in this moment. I find myself driven to my knees in thankfulness. I hope that your season of thanksgiving does not require such a wake up call. Allow me to extend a warm happy thanksgiving to you all.
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