Blue Fire

You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. Deuteronomy 4:11-13 (NIV)

I struggled with what to write about today until I read Sandcastle Momma’s http://sandcastlemomma.blogspot.com/ post about her son’s adventure last night. Then, I knew I had a story to tell. I have written before about how youngest son was a very active child. He hated being confined, resisting car seats, strollers or bike seats. He took off running before he could walk. He learned to climb out of his crib early and would roam around the house while we slept. I guess I wasn’t a very good mom because even with a baby monitor most times I slept right through his escapades. Once I did wake to hear him talking and could tell it was not coming from his room, but somewhere high above my head. I followed the sound to the top of the linen closet where he was perched. He could climb up, but did not come back down. He was content to sit there talking to himself until someone came to get him. He had so many visits to the emergency room by the time he was two that we were afraid to take him back. The nurses always separated husband and me to question us about the injury. I am sure we were on some kind of a suspect list for child abuse. For a while, we rotated hospitals. No wonder he has chosen a career in emergency medicine. One time when he was two, I was in his bedroom cleaning, and he was in a room across the hall watching television. Or so, I thought. I was running the vacuum cleaner, but over its sound caught the rumble of a boom. It seemed like years went by it was only seconds as the lights flickered, and I turned off the vacuum because I smelled smoke. As I turned to see what was happening, youngest son came running towards me with his eyes wide and frightened. “Blue fire, Mommy! Blue Fire!” was all he could say. I raced into the next room and smelled smoke but saw no fire. I looked around in confusion. Then, I saw a pair of wire cutters lying on the floor beside the television. He had cut the power cord to the VCR box. Thank God the wire cutters had insulated handles, and youngest son did not electrocute himself. It was a close call and for a short time, our emergency room co pays eased as youngest son was a little more careful about his adventures. At least for once, he learned a lesson. I can be just as hardheaded. I want what I want when I want it even though that check engine light inside me called the Holy Spirit warns me not to go there. Sometimes, God lets me get to where I thought I wanted to go only to find that I’ve made a mistake after all. Then, He steps in to rescue me. But, sometimes, it takes a flash of fire to bring me back into line again.