Weekend to Remember

I had a weekend that I never would have expected.

Sunday morning, June 16, 2013, I attended church with my family. This is something I haven't done for years. My wife and children have wanted to get involved in church again for some time but I've pushed back. My family craves the fellowship...not so much the churchism. I had also been encouraged to go by someone I will only give initials for (SCOTT HOSTETTER). He encouraged me to go in order to expand fellowship and keep peace in my family. I've had a tough time in the last several years attending "church" for a variety of reasons (I imagine most here will understand so I won't go into them). Anyway, most of the message was good and focused primarily on keeping God's Commandments. I'm glad Scott encouraged me for what happened next.

After the service, we headed into downtown Hannibal to explore an art festival and get a bite to eat. We took somewhat of an obscure route and went past a house that had some smoke coming out from under the rafters. We pulled into the lot across the street and I hopped out and ran over to the house. Another guy had stopped to check it out too. By the time we got up to the house (10 seconds) it was pouring smoke out of every corner of the house. A woman and 3 babies peeked their heads out of the 2nd floor window. They knew something was wrong but didn't know the house was on fire. We pleaded with her to drop down the babies, but she was unsure and ducked back in the house.

We went to the front door which was locked and broke it down, but it was too hot to go inside...pretty much a furnace. Fire was everywhere I looked. I couldn't go in over a step without feeling like my skin was on fire. (I have a greater appreciation for firemen today). The two of us ran back to the window and hollered up to get the woman's attention. She came back after what seemed like an eternity and was convinced by that time that the house was indeed on fire and the window was her only option. She must have tried to get out of the room while we were trying to get in the front door.

The woman dropped her youngest baby into my arms. While I was handing off the first child, she dropped her second into the other guys arms. Then we caught the 3rd baby together. He was maybe 3 or 4yrs old. Me and one other guy (someone else who had just come up to help), put our hands together and pleaded with the woman to jump. She was a rather stout woman....I would guess in the neighborhood of 300lbs. She came out of the window into our arms. Ok, so it was mostly us breaking her fall...I don't think we could have picked her up, let alone catch her from ten feet up. Either way, she was unharmed. The whole thing probably took place in under 5 minutes.

Police and firetrucks got there a couple minutes later after everyone had gotten out of the house safely. The family had some pretty bad smoke inhalation, but nothing serious. The house was pretty much a complete loss.

I tell you this story because it was something I was involved in, that I wouldn't have been, if I had stayed home (like usual). It was safe at home and I know mostly what I'd have done. I certainly wouldn't be offending anyone with my often uncontrollable urge to share my opinions. But, on that day, I mostly kept my opinions to myself. I mustered up what I could in order to do something for my wife who has been craving fellowship. We went somewhere I normally wouldn't go and at the end of the day, my wife was looking at me like I was wearing a cape or something....pretty cool feeling.

Somewhere along the line, I've lost my desire to interact with the masses. I've gotten tired of raining on parades. We have a hard truth to tell, but we need to remember it's a beautiful, life altering truth and some will be saved.

I don't want to be a dark cloud, I want to be a soothing cool shower on a hot, muggy day. I want to be a light. Not a blinding, avoid the area light, but one that lights the darkness. I want to be a cool drink, not a fire hose. I want to be a little bit salty, but not so much so that I overwhelm the message; faith, hope, charity. I think I took a step in the right direction Sunday. I hope I'm able to continue taking steps forward and not slipping backward. Looking for opportunities with a sense of empathy, listening, and learning how to control my tongue will likely be a lifelong challenge. Sharing love instead of wallowing in self pity, selfishness, and defeatism is something I need to work on too. I don't imagine I'll have this kind of opportunity every day, but maybe over time I'll be able to pull some more souls out of the fire.