I set my kitchen on fire once.
At the time of the great kitchen fire our daughter Kyler was 6, Thomas, who is on the autism spectrum, was 4, and our
newly remodeled kitchen
was 9 months old.
We had just received Thomas’ autism diagnosis a year before and I was still reeling from that unplanned, unexpected hard story and I had just taken a job as a Children’s Ministry Director for a church in town.
Because why not?
So I’m a mom with young kids, a fresh autism diagnosis, a new job,
and I’m frying homemade gluten free chicken nuggets
on the stove top because there weren’t many gluten free options back then and it's the only protein Thomas will eat and he only eats them if they’re fried!!!!
(Deep sigh.)
Let’s just say…I was overwhelmed by life’s circumstances.
I don’t know what drew me out of my
newly remodeled kitchen
but I remember thinking,
“I’ll only be gone a couple seconds. I’ll just leave those nuggets frying in the cast iron skillet on the burner.
What could happen in a few seconds?”
It also must have involved my daughter because when the smoke alarm went off and smell burning plastic hit my nose, we both ran in and saw the stove top and the surrounding cabinets shining brightly in flames.
and top-of-the-line kitchen vent/convection/microwave oven combo was melting and dripping down onto the stove top.
I screamed, “Oh shoot!”
(I didn’t say shoot.)
I grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the kitchen sink,
that my husband put there even though I told him I would never need to use a fire extinguisher,
and put out the fire!
I’m a hero and a villain
and the kids were fine.
I open the windows to air out what’s left of my
newly remodeled kitchen
and I’m thinking how am I going to tell my husband that the money we just spent 9 months ago literally just went up in smoke.
Then in the distance, I heard what sounds like a fire truck siren.
Well that’s ironic. The fire truck with sirens blaring going to a fire after we’ve just had a fire. Feels like God’s sense of humor.
I ponder .. .Can I scrape the microwave off the stove top?
What are we going to have for dinner?
Then I realize the sound of the fire truck siren is getting closer.
The I realize the fire truck is turning down my street.
Then I realize the fire truck is stopping in front of our house.
My daughter runs out the front door ahead of me to greet them and with arms wide open says, “It’s okay. It’s okay. The fire’s out. My mom yelled, “Oh shoot.”
(She didn’t say shoot)
and then she put it out with the ec-sting-gisher.”
Life may not be going the way you expected or planned.
Speaking of lighting something on fire….
Let’s look at Luke 11:33.
This Jesus speaking.
Luke 11:33 The Message Version
“No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It’s put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they’re going
“Jesus doesn’t light a lamp in us , then want us to hide in a drawer or under a basket We’re put on a lamp stand so people entering the room of our lives have light to see where they’re going.
Why would Jesus even need to say, Don’t hide in a drawer?
Who would hide under a basket or in a drawer?
Me.
When my life feels like a grease fire, I don’t want to Shine Bright. I want to hide. I don’t want people to know my kitchen is on fire.
Have you wanted to hide yourself from others because of a hard story?
Maybe you feel like your life is a grease fire right now?
So the fire fighters came into the house. They checked the stove top and the wall behind the stove top and the attic crawl space. Everything was cold. We were clear. Those fire fighters were so kind. They even let Kyler and Thomas sit in the fire truck as they packed up their gear.
But how did they know to come to our house?
How did they know I had a homemade gluten free nuggets grease fire in my
newly remodeled kitchen?
I had not called 911.
I did not want to advertise the grease fire.
I had planned on just moving on and not telling anyone. I mean, how embarrassing. Totally a pride issue.
How did the fire department know?
My across the street neighbor Carol saw black smoke billowing out of the vent in the roof.
She didn’t come over and ask if everything was okay.
She didn’t ask if she could call 911.
She just did it.
She saw a need and filled it.
Ladies and gentlemen, sometimes we’re the ones with a grease fire in our lives and sometimes we’re my neighbor Carol. Luke 11:33 is for all of us, no matter who we are in that story.
Who are you today?
How will you fill a need?
Will you be brave and tell a trusted person that you're not okay?
How will you Shine Bright?