Fear and Following the Father

Ash is raining down on my little town. Smoke billows over my house and as far as the eye can see from west to east. Where is the fire? Is there a new wildfire nearby again? Will I lose my home like the lady did just two days ago about 6 miles from me? That fire was miles away but with thirty mile an hour winds blowing our way, who knew what would happen? Now, just two days later, where is the fire? The news mentioned two- one to the south 30 miles and one to the west about 30 miles as well. But is there a new one close by?
So many questions, and a little gnawing anxiety sits heavy in my chest.
Am I casting all my care on Jesus? Do I remember he cares for me?
Deep breath. Pray. Trust. Yes, I remember. Yes, I cast this care about fires and evacuations and uncertainty on my Savior. He knows. He has never once failed me, not in forty years.
If I lost all this, this stuff, what have I really lost? Stuff.
I have my Lord, my family.


And the sheriff's department said (yes, I called)that the ash is falling all over two counties from the fire to the west. Freaky. But the fire is in an unpopulated area. People are safe right now.


We are only living in "right now" anyway. Sufficient unto the day...
And we can thank the Lord for that, too!

Chicago

Benjamin and I are back from Chicago after his clinic appointment at Shriners Hospital. His surgeon said his models and tooth movement look good but that he isn't sure he is finished growing. They don't want to operate while he is still growing so he doesn't outgrow the surgery. We will know in a couple of weeks. If we have to wait, he'll have another checkup with x-rays in about 6 months. We also learned that instead of moving his bottom jaw, it is more likely that they will move his top jaw out more and if absolutely necessary, move his bottom in just a little.
The weather was better this time up north, and our trip was fine.
The children at home did well, and Alan survived with minimal hand-wringing.