Burnin' Ring of Fire

We thought we'd recognize the dying embers of summer with a campfire. Not sure why, but just like everything else we didn't make time for this summer, this was our first fire in months.

Daddy was responsible for cutting the grass in the backyard today in preparation, plus filling the cooler. Mommy was responsible for s'mores and photos. Carter, well, he got the stick.

Actually that's a big responsibility to be in charge of the fire stick. It's also tied in with the responsibility of adding logs, branches, sticks, whatever burns, to keep the fire going.

He did pretty well. Of course, just about the point we're relaxing, listening to the chorus of crickets in the creek and getting mesmerized by the glowing coals, here comes Stick Man to stir things up!

It's just like life, isn't it? Just about the point things are on an even keel, we dare to say things are going well, God comes along to stir things up, testing our faith, our patience, our love. And stirring us to action, sometimes as simple as prayer.

On Tuesday, my father-in-law will undergo triple-bypass surgery. To date, most of our health concerns have been with my parents, who are about 10 years older than hubby's. It sort of took us by surprise. But not entirely. We can't expect a person to smoke for decades and not suffer some health consequences down the road. We just always hope our loved ones are the lucky few who skate by unscathed.

We realize heart surgery is "routine" in many respects, but that doesn't mean we won't have a few worries -- make that "concerns to carry to God" -- about the operation and recovery. I'm sure he'll be fine. We must remember how fortunate we are that the problems were diagnosed early enough to be fixed. Some people, many who end up dying of a heart attack, don't get that warning.

I guess God just needed to stir up our fire a bit so we weren't taking all of our blessings for granted. He's the ultimate Stick Man. I'll have to be a bit more tolerant (read: less annoyed) than we were with Carter. And also remember that if it gets too hot, sometimes we just need to scoot our chair back a ways so we don't get burned. Leave the fire tending in someone else's hands.