Keeping the Home Fires burning

Nov. 2, 2006      Keeping the Home Fire Burning, LITERALLY, lol :) Good Evening from a chilly Kentucky! I must mention first of all that I saw something today that made me laugh.Someone has "prompt ideas" for bloggers. Random ideas for you to write about when you have NO idea what subject to write or anything to write about. Here I am with my ADD brain whirling around , thinking of a million different things at once and never having the time to get them all down here, I can not FATHOM that someone would be sitting out there without a clue as to what to write! Oh how I wish my brain were ever that clear of thoughts,lol. Just tonight I had to choose my topic, and its a hard, hard thing for me, so much to say, so much that I am worried about, praying about,thinking about, just plain pondering and such.... I will ask prayers in my child custody issues if you are reading this, more stress and worry has been added and I struggle to stay in the right frame of mind through it all.But this is what God put on my heart as I prayed before writing so this is what I shall write about. FIRE! We rent a neat older (built 1902) house here in Kentucky. It has two sources of heat, oil and a wood burning stove. The first year we tried using both sources, but when the oil ran out and winter was NOT over, we decided that we could not afford to fill that tank again and would just use the stove. Since every year the prices for oil have gone up, we never did go back to filling that tank. Other than needing a space heater in a couple kids rooms when the temperature dips VERY low, our wood stove has kept us pretty toasty, Praise God ! I worked on that fire tonight as the evening set in and it became a bit chilly. We have not needed it the last few days, its been very mild. But tonight was going to be different and if I wanted warmth later on, the fire needed to be tended to. I had the children gather me some more kindling and starter type wood and I was ready to go. Slowly, and with patience I built the fire. I put in a larger piece of semi-dry wood. I then rolled up some newspaper rolls and set them next to it, I added some small wood chips around and on top of the paper. Then I formed a sort of "lean-to" with the kindling pieces.Careful to leave room for the fire to breath through them. Finally I struck a match and got it started. Still, my job was not done. I had to add bigger pieces of wood, little by little and fan the flames. For awhile I just allowed the fire to catch and get rolling. At this point I have it "wide-open" so to speak, the dampers are open all the way as is the flue. But still, I can't just leave it like that, it would get going fast and be burnt out WAY before the night was over. We would wake to a freezing cold house! So a little bit later, I go back to tend it again. I add some more wood, bigger pieces now and I am careful to choose ones that are not as dry and brittle. Now that it is going good I can add the greener wood. This wood is harder to catch fire and will burn long and slow. I turn the dampers a little tighter closed and adjust the flue a bit more closed also. Now I am pretty well set, I will check it one more time before bed, maybe add a log or two and tighten it a tiny bit more.This way it will be burning slow and hot all night long. Its a pretty long and careful process isn't it? Especially as I write out the steps on here it looks even longer, lol But many thoughts came to me as I was working on this fire tonight.One is just how wild of a ride I have been on in this life! I was born in Philadelphia Pa, right in the city and lived there until twenty-something when I moved to NC. I would have NEVER imagined as a city girl who had a concrete backyard (no kidding!) that I would someday live in a house that required wood to keep it warm. You really never know what God has planned. I later on lived in the North Carolina mountains when my first husband cheated on me and ran off, leaving me alone in a small town with five kids and no family near by. The house we lived in then was heated by a wood/water stove, located in a small barn outside. You had to keep that thing burning hot to heat the big 'ol house we rented there. I remember my husband telling me I would "never have to mess with that thing", that was gonna be his job. Then he left in October, guess who got the job! Yup, city girl me! I remember using all dry wood because it burned so nice, only to have to keep filling it or re-lighting it. Then I tried too much green wood and smoked myself out of the barn! LOL But guess what, when you have five small children to keep warm, you learn REALLY fast how to make a good fire. :) Flash forward almost ten years and here I am lighting fires again. Only this time, I am re-married and get to share this responsibility with my hubby and now older kids too. I also am glad the the stove is in my living room, not the barn. Walking through snow late late at night to tend a fire is NOT fun. And the funny thing is, I am actually the best one at tending the fire now,lol,shhh don't tell hubby. But as I worked on my fire tonight I keep thinking of how much it is like tending to my children. Unlike the oil or gas heat, you can not just turn it on and off. The fire is much more like parenting, you can not just turn it on and off at will. Little by little you have to work at it, really WORK at it! But there is no rushing any of it. You can't just throw on logs and have it burn out too quick, you can't smother either.You have to build,slowly and patiently and keep a close eye. Now I really understand all the old expressions, like, "keeping the home fires burning". That is a really important job! If no one keeps it going you have to start that thing all over in a very cold house. Our jobs as Moms(and Dads) are important in that same way aren't they? That's one reason why I am a stay at home Mom for now and a homeschooler. I am home tending my children because its an important job, and I do not want to leave it to anyone else.So for as long as I am able, I will do my best.  As my fire caught on and built up tonight I was encouraged by God that it is the same for my family and all the things I am going through. I don't have quick answers, but that's okay because this is a work in progress. I am meant to go slowly and keep on working at it. If I go off quickly and run like crazy trying to do EVERYTHING, and be everything, I will BURN out as will the kids. If I try to just fix everything in one fell swoop, I may smother things, kill creativity, etc. So I continue on, little by little, working bit by bit and praying for strength and patience along the way.