At the time, I didn’t recall where I had read those words before, but they were all I could think of the night our home was caught in the center of a massive brush fire. Whipped by gusty winds, the blaze was traveling at 100 miles per hour and licking up the homes around us in 15-second intervals.
We had escaped with our lives and not much else, though I did manage to grab a printout of that week’s Christian Science Bible Lesson and copies of the Christian Science Sentinel and The Christian Science Journal, as well as the notebook I used for my Christian Science practice. I felt if it were going to be a rough road ahead, I’d need these more than family jewels or pictures.
When we opened the door to leave, with the police bullhorn outside informing us that we had 90 seconds to do so, the flames shot inside the entrance hall. We stomped them out and ran outside. I recall wondering why we had bothered. Habit, I guess, to take care of things even though they might not last beyond a few moments.
