I’ll Always Wonder

This is two stories in one, but with the same theme.

A few months back the house across the street caught on fire, and workers have started tearing it down for a rebuild. It stirred some thoughts for me — make sure your smoke detectors are working and be grateful for what you have. It also reminded me of an event that took place over a decade ago.

Back then my husband and I lived in an apartment in Maryland and went out of our way to recycle plastic, cardboard, and the like. There wasn’t trash pickup for recyclables like there is today. We didn’t mind the drive to the landfill. Route 7 towards North East was a nice back road and we would turn the music up and enjoy the ride. Halfway there, my husband slowed the car.

To the right over the guardrail was a field. A small shrub was on fire. “Huh. A burning bush,” I pondered. I went to church as a kid and had a moment of recognition. When I got home I looked up the burning bush story online and came across this passage from Exodus:

“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.’ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

Even though I’ve been saved three times, I’m still a bit of an agnostic. Yet, all I could think about the rest of the trip was this: If Jesus is real, he must be so frustrated right now. He’s probably thinking, “I gave you the burning bush. What more proof do you need?!”

Before the house across the street caught fire, we had a beautiful Burning Bush shrub that we maintained for over 10 years. Unfortunately, it kept growing and growing, encroaching upon the fire hydrant in our yard. We decided to cut it down to keep the fire hydrant clear – the very same year the house caught fire.

Sometimes I wonder if someone is trying to tell me something…