Kept Burning

"'Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the tent of meeting,outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come." Exodus 27:20-21

Last night, I thought I had heard faint sirens blaring. It was odd at the time because nothing ever happens here in the country yard. I did not even bother lifting the blinds to check outside. I was tired and I wanted to sleep.

A patient came by earlier this morning. She need more hypertension medication, but her blood pressure was higher than usual. She said she was awake all throughout the night. It was common for old ladies to lose sleep here and there, so I casually asked why she did not sleep. 

She said there had been a fire last night. It wasn't her house, but a neighbor's. The children made it out alive, but the husband died with the fire as he ran in to save his wife as well. The husband turned out to be the son of an old lady that provided lunch for the workers here. 

The fire must have kept burning for a while. It was no fire upon a lampstand, but a wild one. 

I know this is a stretch, perhaps even rude to those in tragedies, but I felt a sense of responsibility. I had not kept my lampstand burning before the Lord. I had not prayed for this neighborhood. I just wanted to get away as much as possible. Yet, there were people here that needed God. 

I pray that the souls that parted ways were found by God. I pray that those in mourning are comforted by God.