Monday, September 20, 2010

Smoke, Stress and Stories

Smoky skies yesterday turned out to be a fire out of control that originated on Camp Williams machine gun firing field.  Thousands of people and hundreds of animals evacuated.  Incredibly, only 4 homes out of thousands in harms way, burned to the ground.

Our house sits above the valley of Salt Lake and we watched as dirty brown smoke filled the valley, polluting the air and making our throats itchy and noses tingle.   It is not going to be a good day for asthmatics and those who have allergies.  I feel bad for their suffering as well as for those who have been directly affected by the fire.  Lives have been changed.

Stories are filling the air about the fire, stories of heroics, of suffering, of stress and worry, of future plans, of long nights tending to frightened children and animals.  Stories are what we listen to that feed our imaginations and influence our deciscions.  I love stories.  I love the power they have to move people to laughter or tears, anger or forgiveness.  

Jesus Christ used stories to illustrate gospel principles.  He is the Master Teacher and his stories or parables, have lasted for generations upon generations of humankind.  Truth endures.  Take a moment to think of one of His parables.  I'd love to hear comments next week on which story you chose to think about this week and how it may or may not have affected your actions this week.

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