Firepit Revelations

My wife and I sat outside last week and used my new fire pit and enjoyed one last beautiful fall night. We stared into the flames and talked well into the evening.  Just wonderful. 

There is something about a fire that stirs something deep within the human soul.  Wired in our DNA must be something that equates fire with what it provided our ancestors throughout human history - safety, warmth, food. 

Funny how we're made that way. 

The only thing I can liken it to is how humans react when seeing/recognizing natural beauty.  The majesty of snowcapped mountains, the mystery of a rural starlit sky and its billions of stars, the brilliance of a coral reef and its abundance of colorful life are just some of dozens of other examples.  Like our reaction to fire, humans have been awed by these wonders throughout our history. 

Personally, in witnessing these things, I usually come away from them as moments when God reveals Himself to me.  That's not a tough leap.  What is significantly more hard are the moments where the revelation is far more subtle. The caring call from a dear one at just the right time.  The spirit of communion in something greater than us found at a funeral, a wedding, or at mass.  The warmth that charity generates for those giving, as well as those receiving.  Times when we truly are Christ for each other.  

Omnipresent in our lives, but hard to see without looking.