I have not had too much time to blog in the last few months but I felt compelled to write an entry this week.

Unless you've been living in a cave, you know that Southern California has been attacked by fire for the past week. I live in the Portola Hills area and the Santiago fire came within a few hundred yards of my home. My family and I are very thankful for the efforts of the fire and police departments. They saved many lives and the homes of many people due to their near super human efforts.

My heart goes out to the families who lost homes.

There is another reason that I decided to blog. I wanted to tell you about something that happened that has made me think about the abundance of blessings with which I have been bestowed.

After the stress of the Santiago fire and the threat to our homes, everyone in our community began to relax. On Friday, my wife and I were returning from dinner at about 8:15 PM only to be frightened again when we arrived home. There was a fire truck and 3 police squad cars near our house. It turns out they were called by our neighbors, Bob and Carol. Being concerned, we asked if there was anything we could do to assist. One of the firemen asked me to call Bob and Carol's pastor. Without knowing what the emergency was, I was able to contact Pastor John.

The next morning I followed up with Pastor John still being concerned. Bob had left the house around noon to run some errands and to play a round of golf. He spoke with Carol around 4 PM. At 8 PM Bob arrived home only to find his beloved wife slumped on the floor. Sometime in those four hours she had passed away.

After surviving the threat to our homes and the stress brought on by the Santiago fire, just as the community began to relax, Bob loses his wife. What irony!

I'm certain that in a few days life will begin to return to normal. I will likely go back to taking things for granted. At least for now, I am ever so grateful for the blessings that I have.