Living the Somedays: Taking Air for Granted

Six days ago lighting started several wildfires in my area. Today in Southern Oregon there are several big fires burning about 40,000 acres. It has been rated the highest-priority fire in the nation for three days running.

There is very little chance that Grants Pass will be evacuated. There are rivers, roads, and irrigated fields between where the fires are and the city. So that means our home will have an even lesser chance of being threatened. But anything can happen. The weather is very fire-friendly right now, and a man-started fire could spread quickly.

But fire danger aside, many people are leaving the area due to the dangerous air quality. The smoke is causing burning eyes/lungs, coughing, and headaches (in my case :( ). There are chemicals and poison oak traces in the smog, which I heard is three times as bad as Los Angeles' air pollution. People are advised to stay inside, especially children and those with health issues. We are even encouraged to bring our animals inside!

The smoke has put a halt to lots of outdoor work and activities, including rafting and boat trips on the river and the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, both of which are huge tourist atractions, right in the middle of tourist season. These fires are damaging people's businesses just from the smoke.

The latest news is that "Gov. John Kitzhaber has declared a state of emergency in Josephine and Douglas counties, authorizing the National Guard to help fight the fires." They've also put a ban on using electric machinery outside and even caution people against burning anything inside.

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Enough with the news... Here's why I'm writing.

We can hear "five percent contained" or "hazardous air quality" and freak out. We could start to worry or complain. But I just want to take a minute and be thankful. I'm thankful for the fact that for 21 years of my life, I've never had to experience this bad, smoky air before. But did I feel thankful back then? Nope! I just took it for granted. So I'm thanking God now. How many other things have I taken for granted? How many things have I not thanked God for today?

I'm not saying it's bad to forget to thank God for everything that isn't going wrong. But I'm trying to encourage you (and me) that right now is a great time to be thankful, because it helps fight against complaining!

1 Thess 5:18 says, "In everthing give thanks." That means in the smoke! Here are some things I'm thankful for.

Things we have that past generations didn't:

Houses with sealed windows and doors to keep out the smoke.

Cars with internal A.C. so we don't have to breathe in the smoke while traveling.

Firefighting equipment and technology that is able to do a better job than years ago.

Firefighters who are capable and brave and follow orders. (Ok, we always had these :))

Satellite cameras and weather people.

Computers so we can read warnings and information about our safety before it's too late.

Masks and filters and fans.

Other things I don't want to take for granted:

My life
My new life in Christ
My marriage
My family being close by
Religious freedom
My lovely home
Our beautiful hometown
The fact that I own a Bible
The fact that I am healthy enough to do everyday chores
The fact that I can sing and read music
Internet and how it makes things so much easier
My smart phone, so I can write this blog post
My cats and how they make me laugh and smile
The church we get to attend
My wonderful group of friends
Books
Smoothies
Birds
Grass
Sunny days
Sisters
Brothers-in-Christ
Laughter
Joy
Music
Dancing
Hymns
Parents
Sales at my favorite stores
Recipes
OxyClean
Scrapbooking
Babies
A new dryer that works
A new job for my husband
A whole year of living the somedays together <3