Disconnect

This week past week was rough on my town. Waldo Canyon Fire created havoc in our town. Many were left homeless and still many are not back home. 346 homes were destroyed in our town in one evening. With that said, 14,000 homes were miraculously saved by our wonderful firefighters.

All of this has caused our town to grieve. We have pulled together but there has been an acknowledgement that we are a town in crisis. We are all experiencing this together. There have been references to what we learned from 9/11. We don't let our kids sit in front of the TV for hours on end hearing every last update on the fire. We realize we are all in shock and hurting. We realize this has hit too many families. There have been many that have come out in force to help.

Disconnect.

I am sitting in disconnect right now.

My life has not been forever changed by a fire ravaging my home. My things are safe. My family is safe. My friends are safe.

I woke up this morning and realized calm has come over our city again. People are relaxing. Fire isn't the only thing about which we all talk.

There are countless stories raising from the ashes that warm the heart and bring thanks to God. There are people going above and beyond to help. Somehow...that all feels so distant.

We have given what we can to the relief organizations. My kids and I have cleaned out closets for clothing donations. We, as a family, sacrificed time with my hubby so he could work late nights to help evacuees with their cars. We prepared our home for evacuees but it was not needed.

It is starting to already feel like a distant smoky memory on the mountain. I can see it...but it is in the distance.

I have started to go back to "normal" life and prepare for vacation. I can't wait to spend an entire week in the mountains with my family, extended family, friends and family friends. It's certainly what my soul needs. No electricity. No running water. No cell phones or electronics. A cabin. My family. Coolers and gear. Simple.

The strangeness that came over this city with the fire is still here. It will be here for a while. There is a bit of disconnect knowing that this has happened but yet not really being in the thick of it. My community will be forever changed.

I'm not sure what or why I'm writing this. This isn't what I set out to write but these are the words that came. I hope to be apart of the rebuilding of our community in any way I can. I pray over the many that are in the thick of it. I pray we continue to stand together as we have so far. I pray for things word cannot express right now but in all of it, I pray for God's will.