Apolcalypse

Last Monday morning, October 22nd, 910,000 people in San Diego County received a “reverse 911 call”-mandating families to evacuate their homes. In the next 72 hours, 400,000 acres would burn in eight separate fires. At 5am that morning, I was in the center of that firestorm visiting a Marine family. Dad had reported at 5am to his unit at Camp Pendleton. He awaited orders to return home to be with his wife and child. At 6am, I was carrying cases of water and packing the SUV with the “essentials.” I loaded the trunk with baby food, diapers, flashlights, batteries, a few wedding photos, the baby and the family dog.

Despite the imminent danger, this Marine spouse would not leave her apartment complex without her best friend; She ran upstairs and pounded on the door until her girlfriend awoke. She was told you got five minutes to pack and we got to go. In less than three, her groggy friend piled the truck with more clothes, more wedding pictures and her family dog. We then hit the road with two Marine wives, a 7-month-old baby, two dogs and the chaplain holding a shivering old dog on his lap who was wetting my jeans—most likely nerves.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on Route 5 heading away from the fires. As we inched our way to safety, the sky literally changed before our eyes into a yellow haze of thick smoke and ash. This was called the Witch Fire that started in a canyon that the local Native Americans referred to as “bewitched.” The fierce Santa Ana winds were gusting over 60 miles per hour and making this monster firestorm impossible to contain.

I was having memories of driving into downtown Manhattan the day after 9/11. I still have images of that sickening haze of yellow and grey that filled the sky in which you could not see the skyscrapers. As we drove, we could no longer see the mountains nor homes from the side of the road. We could only smell the smoke and literally see the ash fall on our windshield.

Evacuation centers were being set up all over the county including Qualcomm Stadium, where the San Diego Chargers football team plays. This site would become a portal of safety for some 10,000 evacuees. The people of San Diego were at their best donating blankets, sandwiches, sunscreen, Q-tips, toothpaste and dog food. Another 20,000 volunteers came to handout food and offer support.

Firefighters don’t get in front of these monster fires for they know they cannot be stopped. Only four years ago, San Diego battled the Cedar Fire, which was the largest fire in the state’s history. This Firestorm of 2007 would lead to the largest evacuation some 900,000 people in American history and result in the destruction of over 2,000 homes and businesses.

One never knows where God wants us to serve. We need simply to be open to the present moment and allow the Spirit of compassion to direct our actions. Our efforts might reflect the heroism of those 13,000 firefighters, or the generosity of the thousands of donors and volunteers who came to the shelters to offer comfort, or a lap to hold a frighten dog. I continue to serve as a consultant and mentor to the critical incident counselors who are being deployed today into local schools and businesses.

The Lord prays for us as we reflect: "I will build a house for you. Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you.” (2 Samuel 7:27).

Lord, I pray for the thousands of firefighters who risked their lives to protect families from the firestorm. Bless the volunteers who fed, sheltered and comforted many wounded souls and watered all your creatures great and small. Note, my Marine families did not lose their homes to the fire. They invited other Marine families whose homes were damaged to stay at their homes for safety. I learned last evening that these same Marines were informed on Friday that they are being deployed to Iraq in January 2008.

Steaking Windows

In helping patients cope with their excessive angry moods, I might suggest methods to redirect their anxiety into more positive activities. Anything aerobic is a remedy, but I think I stumbled about a more innovative solution. I will recommend to all my patients to “wash windows.” I had volunteered to wash an old home with its 30-year-old pane glass and screens. This household task was a lesson in humility.

Many years ago while visiting patients in the hospital, I met a man who told me that he was a professional window washer. His secret for getting windows bright and clean was “dirty water.” I thought he was teasing but he explained that the grime that came off the windows as you washed them served a useful purpose. The grit that accumulated on the window over time served like a mini-scouring pad to clean the windows even better. The dirt actually helped to make the windows bright and clean.

Despite this tip, the job of eliminating the streaks on these windows was exasperating. The sun does not lie and as it shined through the dining room window. I would always find another streak that I had missed. I took down that window at least a dozen times before it passed the test. I began to rethink that this household task might either cure "rage-a-holics" or worse, make one raging insane. In the process of cleaning these old windowpanes, I discovered that in addition to “dirty water” a stronger solution of ammonia would help to eliminate any streaks.

There are situations in life we keep making the same mistakes. The same habits plagued our personality despite our promises to change. In the process, we drive ourselves nuts trying to rub out the streaks of pride, greed and selfishness. We promise to exercise, eat healthier or let go of our addiction to a variety of grimy behaviors that keep us from being a responsible and caring person. Honestly, there is a lot of grime in our buckets of life that has accumulated throughout the years. We may want to dump our bucket of grime down the sink, but the Lord has a different solution. Simply put, He wants us to add His life and spirit into the mix. As I added more ammonia into the solution to help eliminate those annoying streaks, God wants us to add more time for Him to get rid of the streaks that prevent us from shining with His love.

After I had washed those windows, I had noticed on the following day that one small pane had some smudges on it. What gives! It turned out that the family cat had jumped up on the window sill to admire the squirrels on the trees and in her excitement rubbed her nose on the window pane. Maybe, we need to rub noses with our Lord more often to admire His goodness and help us to let go of the grease and grim that clogs our lives.

The Lord prays for us as we reflect: “From you let my vindication come; your eyes see what is right.” (Psalm 17:2). The New American Bible

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who deny that the windows of their life need a good scrubbing. We can barely see through the panes of glass that are filled with the grime and grit of life. Help us to add your grace into our solution so that we humbly shine bright in your presence.

Crud in Your Pipes

The title of the seminar was “An Ounce of Prevention.” I had been asked to facilitate a workshop on health screening tests for blood pressure, cholesterol, cancer, diabetes and an assortment of health conditions. I turned to a long-time Sonshine geriatric doctor for his wisdom; His input was simple, yet quite profound. He said: “Sometimes we say that life is unfair. The unfairness is about our genetics.”

In taking a medical history, your doctor will ask you whether your parents and siblings suffered from any medical condition like heart disease or cancer. If you have a medical condition in your family history, then you be crazy not to get a regular health screening for that disease. The earlier any disease is detected, the more your health care provider can help you stay healthy.

Now, I wonder what a spiritual screening test would show up on your chart. A mass of crankiness, resentment, jealousy or worse the need for revenge. In preparing for any medical tests, we are asked to put on a paper gown and sit on the cold gurney waiting for the technicians to perform their tests. Regretfully, most women are quite familiar with the discomfort of certain tests. My recommendation, find a tech who knows what they are doing to make this experience more comfortable.

We are told that God will examine our lives at the end of time. Instead of dreading this final exam, and the outcome of His tests. Now might be a good time to get back into spiritual shape and workout those areas of our lives that need a reconditioning. In taking care of our heart, we might think of it as a pump with lots of pipes. If we put to much pressure on the pump or pipes, something might blow.

Where are you suffering spiritual pressure? This might be a time to find a good tech, or spiritual director to help you examine your spiritual health with the goal of cleaning out your pipes so that the grace of God’s mercy might flow more smoothly in your veins.

God prays for us as we reflect: " Behold, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” (Jeremiah 33:6).

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends whose pipes are filled with memories of crud that block Your healing. Help us to find a spiritual director, a good tech whose is gentle and understanding and inspires us to better spiritual health.