I live in southern California, which was so recently ravaged by multiple wild fires. Having experienced that terrible smoke-filled week has given pause to reflect upon what was lost, what was saved, and the plight of so many neighbors and fellow citizens in the midst of disaster and its aftermath. Our hearts go out who those who have suffered loss and pain and I continue to keep them in my prayers. My words can but little console them, but my hope is that, as an extended community, we will see to their immediate needs and offer the support they need to begin again. My own heart was drawn back to the Laguna Beach fire of 1991, which struck closer to my own home, family and friends. At that time, as is so oft the case, I responded with a poem. So I take the liberty of offering those thoughts today. When disaster strikes it often sharpens our emotions and priorities and compresses the time available to consider them. Those are the times when we instinctively make choices regarding the true value of all that surrounds us. On that fateful night, as I rushed out of the house to assist others in greater need, I observed my young children packing their wagon with their most precious possessions. I will never forget that image. The fact is that disaster, even impending disaster, forces us to prioritize and we can’t help but wonder what each of us might pack into our own wagon when the time comes to choose. In the end, however, stuff is merely stuff and only people really matter. As you consider your own wagon load of priorities, I hope and pray that you’ll pause to thank God for what and who you have … and all those things that may not even be worth saving.
Out of the AshesWhen disaster rears its terrible head
and the flood or the fire is near
When there is only time to save a few things
and we race to do so in our fear
Suddenly, all of our values
and the value of what we possess
Are redefined during the crisis
in the light of our plight and distress
Then the treasures that we have hoarded
through the years are left strewn on the floor
Dumped out to make room in the boxes
for the things which mean so much more
Photos and trinkets long forgotten
are dragged from dusty their nooks
To be carefully packed with precious things
price and comfort are overlooked
Gold and silver and stones expensive
are discarded for mere strings of beads
Which have no market value but
somehow, fulfill more emotional needs
When, at last, we can tarry no longer
we rush with loved ones and pets in arms
To havens of safety or higher ground
and out of the path of harm
And count ourselves fortunate, after all
in the light of that terrible cost
Even there, in the face of disaster
merely thankful for lives not lost
We gaze into the eyes of our loved ones
of family and friends who are near
Knowing well that the house can be replaced
losing people is what we fear
For insurance can never replace them
so if they are safe we can get by
All of the other things pale in value
though they might bring a tear to one's eye
As we go back to sift through the ashes
of the homes that were filled with our lives
We discover our greatest possessions
are our children and husbands and wives
Certainly hindsight reveals a thousand things
which we might have carried away
But there is no reason to torture ourselves
we've no choice but to wake up each day
And thank God that our friends and our family
were spared from that terrible foe
For often disasters are not so kind
as each of us in our hearts knows
So as we survey the path of destruction
and add up the weight of its cost
Let us pause to thank God for His mercy
remembering all that we could have lost
By Frank Carpenter ©
