On fire.
Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666.
-Anne Bradstreet
In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow near I did not look,
I waken'd was with thund'ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of "fire" and "fire,"
Let no man know is my Desire.
I starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Then coming out, behold a space
The flame consume my dwelling place.
For sorrow near I did not look,
I waken'd was with thund'ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of "fire" and "fire,"
Let no man know is my Desire.
I starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Then coming out, behold a space
The flame consume my dwelling place.
And when I could no longer look,
I blest his grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own; it was not mine.
Far be it that I should repine,
I blest his grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own; it was not mine.
Far be it that I should repine,
He might of all justly bereft
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the Ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast
And here and there the places spy
Where oft I sate and long did lie.
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the Ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast
And here and there the places spy
Where oft I sate and long did lie.
Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest,
There lay that store I counted best,
My pleasant things in ashes lie
And them behold no more shall I.
Under the roof no guest shall sit,
Nor at thy Table eat a bit.
There lay that store I counted best,
My pleasant things in ashes lie
And them behold no more shall I.
Under the roof no guest shall sit,
Nor at thy Table eat a bit.
No pleasant talk shall 'ere be told
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee.
In silence ever shalt thou lie.
Adieu, Adieu, All's Vanity.
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee.
In silence ever shalt thou lie.
Adieu, Adieu, All's Vanity.
Then straight I 'gin my heart to chide:
And did thy wealth on earth abide,
Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly.
And did thy wealth on earth abide,
Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly.
'Thou hast a house on high erect
Fram'd by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished
Stands permanent, though this be fled.
It's purchased and paid for too
By him who hath enough to do.
A price so vast as is unknown,
Yet by his gift is made thine own.
There's wealth enough; I need no more.
Farewell, my pelf; farewell, my store.
The world no longer let me love;
My hope and Treasure lies above.
Fram'd by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished
Stands permanent, though this be fled.
It's purchased and paid for too
By him who hath enough to do.
A price so vast as is unknown,
Yet by his gift is made thine own.
There's wealth enough; I need no more.
Farewell, my pelf; farewell, my store.
The world no longer let me love;
My hope and Treasure lies above.
Last night I watched huge flames lick the sky as they made their way over the mountain and down the ridgeline toward our home. While I never thought our home was in any real danger, you just never know. As the evacuation area expanded and expanded through the night I thought I should be prepared, so I went through my house and started collecting things to put in my car.
When all was said and done this is what I had:
- A change of clothes and a pair of shoes for everyone - I took my blue hoodie, as it is my writing sweatshirt. Can't finish a novel without my blue hoodie.
- Important Papers
- Pictures
- My scriptures
- The backup hard drive
- The girl's blankets
- Ashley's violin
- A old travel case of Grandma Ida's that belongs to my mother
That's it. I had time. Hours to prepare and think about what I would take. I could have taken anything I wanted, but as I walked through my house and thought I'd miss my piano, my new furniture and my clothes and my shoes (!!) (and I took a picture because the insurance guy would never have believed I actually own as many shoes as I do). I'd be sad to lose my food storage and have to start over because that's been quite a project, but most of my stuff is just stuff and while I'd be sad if I lost it all, I'd just start again. You can always get more stuff.
Of all my worldly possessions the only things I would have really mourned were my memories, my pictures, and those I had time to save. In the end, as long as these people were in the car with me...
...well, the rest of it honestly didn't seem to matter much.
Thanks to loving family who called and prayed for us and kept an all-night vigil on the other side of the mountain waiting to rescue us if needed! And thanks to whoever took the fire pic that I "borrowed" from Facebook. It's a great shot and my camera was out of batteries.
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