{"id":2097,"date":"2016-08-17T22:29:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T22:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=2097"},"modified":"2016-08-17T22:29:44","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T22:29:44","slug":"california-brush-fire-heroes-among-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2016\/08\/california-brush-fire-heroes-among-us.html","title":{"rendered":"California Brush Fire: Heroes Among Us!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image
Image Courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Want to hear about heroes? Here in Southern California, another brush fire<\/a> has erupted. To me, the term “brush fire” is misleading. It brings to my mind something contained\u00a0and on a small scale. But this fire is anything but. It started yesterday afternoon and within 4 hours had spread to more than 5,000 acres! By this morning, it was at an estimated 30,000 acres<\/a> – with no containment.\u00a0More than 82,000 people have been evacuated, and many structures have already been reduces to ashes. And the fire continues, threatening homes, businesses, and lives.<\/p>\n

The fire itself is awesome (not in positive sense, of course, but in its scope). That something could be this swiftly powerful and this wild is both terrifying and compelling. But what is even more awesome to me – in a very positive sense – is the response of the heroes among us: firefighters, news crews, and others who do not run\u00a0away<\/em>, but run\u00a0toward<\/em> the dangers posed by this monster of a fire. \u00a0These men and women are putting their lives in harm’s way so that others can get information, find safety, and perhaps, when the smoke clears, have homes to return to.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, Cal Fire reported an incident <\/a>that underscores how amazing those fighting the fires are; six firefighters became entrapped by the blaze while they were “defending homes and assisting evacuations.” Two were injured, taken to the hospital, treated and released –\u00a0and are back on the lines, fighting the fire!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

How awesomely wonderful is God’s creation in the form and character of these brave souls!<\/p>\n

Goodness can shine through where there is determination to let it do so. Even in the midst of terrible adversity, it is a great blessing to know these heroes are active in the world. Further help for all of us to not panic, but trust<\/a> in God!<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want to hear about heroes? Here in Southern California, another brush fire has erupted. To me, the term “brush fire” is misleading. It brings to my mind something contained\u00a0and on a small scale. But this fire is anything but. It started yesterday afternoon and within 4 hours had spread to more than 5,000 acres! 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Here in Southern California, another brush fire has erupted. To me, the term “brush fire” is misleading. It brings to my mind something contained\u00a0and on a small scale. But this fire is anything but. It started yesterday afternoon and within 4 hours had spread to more than 5,000 acres! 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2098,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2097\/revisions\/2098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}