By the Fire
It was a wonderful evening. Jubi wanted to “do something fun.“ That usually means going to the park or a walk on the nature trail. But tonight it was “Hot-dogs roasting on an open fire...“on Jan 8th no less. No Jack Frost in sight either. It all started when she wanted to turn out all the lights in the house and play with the flashlight. Mom said she should take it outside to play since we needed the lights on to work. But Jubi didn't like being outside in the dark alone, even just on the back patio. So I built a fire in the fire pit on the side patio and one thing led to another. Jubi loves to collect sticks for the process. Soon we were taking turn telling stories about wild coyotes that live down the hill and someone got the idea about the hot-dogs. “We could pretend we are camping out, dad.”
Watching the fire, my mind started to replay some thoughts I had a while back on a similar night. It's a pretty cool gift from God- this beautiful process of rapid oxidation. Watching the flames dance and feeling the tension drain out of my body makes me think of how many people down through the ages have sat beside a fire and done the same...staring at the mesmerizing flicker. I wonder what stories they told, what they laughed about, what new ideas came into their heads. I wonder how many kids (big and little) have poked a fire with a stick to watch the sparks fly.
I remember sitting at a fire with my dad countless times at retreats and church camp. It was always a wonderful time to talk, to just sit and think, to dream. I always thought about bible heroes at those time. You know, Elijah and the fire from heaven, or David running from Saul, hiding in caves. It has to be the best place in the whole world to listen to a story and you know there is nothing like singing around a blazing fire.
Nowadays the flicker of the TV usually takes the place of the ancient fire. Our strumming, dreaming, and storytelling is replaced by someone else's disappointing sitcom or melodrama.
I think I need a fireplace in my writing room.
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