world on fire

as you may have heard, pretty much all of southern california is on fire right now. our cars are full of our valuables and our sentimental items, news is on the television 24 hours a day, a constant drizzle of ash has covered everything outside in a fine blanket, and we are all going a little stir crazy trying to stay inside in the a/c so as to avoid respiratory issues, especially for the boy. by some estimates there have been about 1,000 homes in san diego county lost, along with hundreds of thousands of acres, and all i can think is how it is so annoyingly inconvenient.

yesterday morning as annie was packing, i was getting super frustrated and irritated, realizing anything we packed and hauled downstairs to the car, would have to be hauled back upstairs and unpacked at some point. the half a dozen return trips made for forgotten luxuries were nothing short of obnoxious to me. the possibility that we may never return, that we may be permanently adrift, never really crossed my mind.

on the other hand, the 300,000 people who are under mandatory evacuations, having been displaced from their homes, must be just dumfounded and reeling, having the proverbial rug pulled out from underneath them. some of them will return to utter chaos and nothingness, rubble and ash, fire and smoke. i think the reality and scale of such loss seems so far away from me right now that it might as well be uganda, half a planet away, where millions have been displaced by a 20 year civil war.

we are very grateful for our small little world, our island in a sea of burning, where things feel a little like christmas, as lazy mornings blend into lazy afternoons. last night we made chocolate chip cookies and had some friends drop off an air purifier for isaac. at the same time, we are distantly aware that not everybody has it so good. please pray for our community, and for my perspective, b/c while there is nothing wrong with putting our family first, i do want to get beyond ourselves, so we can be a part of the comfort and healing that will need to follow.