When you hear sirens . . .

"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16b (New International Version)

Thirteen years ago, around this time of year, I was sitting in church one Sunday morning, when firetrucks, sirens whirring, sped past church. As always, whenever I hear sirens or the Flight for Fife overhead or any type of emergency vehicle, I sent up a prayer to heaven, asking that whatever was on fire, that no one was hurt and the damage was minimal. Church was soon over, and without giving it much more thought, I headed to the basement to teach Sunday school. An hour later, I stopped at the store before driving home.

When I finally pulled into our driveway, my 17-year-old son met me in the yard. My husband was working and Nick had been home alone with our German foreign exchange student.  I couldn’t figure out what was up, but from the look on Nick’s face, I knew something was going on.

He took me by my shoulders and spun me around to our storage shed behind the garage.

Shortly after I had left for church, he had looked out the front window and noticed flames coming from the shed. Being my boy scout, he assured our German student that he had it under control and threw a few buckets of water on the flames. He quickly realized that was futile and called 911, which shortly precipitated my prayers.

There hadn’t been much of value in the shed, but since our insurance paid out what it would cost to buy all that junk new, we made out pretty good.

So, next time you hear sirens, or have some other inkling telling you that you should send up a prayer for something you may know nothing about, do it. Just say:

Lord, God, whatever may going on right now, keep Your children safe and minimize their loses. Remind them that no matter what happens, You have got it covered. Amen