5 minute read
Grazing Grace
THE LITTLE OL’ GARDEN HOSE
BY GREG A. LANE
It was a Friday night in the summer of 2007. My family and I had just finished watching a show on TV and we were getting ready to go to bed. I was already halfway down the hall, on the way to my bedroom, when I heard my daughter exclaim, “I think the neighbor’s house is on fire!” At first, I thought she was just joking around, but when the tone of her voice went up another octave and she screamed, “FIRE!” I knew it was the real deal!
I ran down the hall to look out the front door window and could see flames rising on my acrossthe-street-neighbor’s back porch. I flung open my front door and saw that one of my other neighbors was pounding on my neighbor’s front door to warn them about the fire that was rapidly spreading on their back porch. The owner of the house was asleep, and her daughter was deaf, so neither of them could hear the commotion that was going on outside. Meanwhile, my wife called the fire department and was told that a fire truck would be on the way shortly.
For a brief moment, I didn’t know what to do. I watched hopelessly as the fire continued to spread. My other neighbor finally got the family inside the house to come to the door. I could see him walking them down the road, away from the house. The deaf girl was crying as my neighbor tried to console her.
In a matter of seconds, the flames had climbed from the floor of the back porch, up to one of the support beams and was on its way to the roof. I was freaking out! I looked on the ground to my right and saw our garden hose laying there.
In a moment of sheer desperation, I turned the spigot on full blast and stretched that little garden hose as far as it could reach toward the neighbor’s house. The hose only reached to the middle of the street … the fire was still 20 feet away. I could hear the fire truck siren off in the distance. I pressed my thumb over the mouth of the hose to create pressure and squirted that water 20 feet across the street toward the fire. In that moment, with all that was happening so quickly, I still remember thinking, “There’s no way this little garden hose can put this fire out.” I could hear the sirens of the fire truck getting closer, so I knew the “professionals” would be here in a matter of seconds, but I kept on spraying. Amazingly, by the time the fire truck pulled up I had actually extinguished the fire … with a little ol’ garden hose. They got their big hose out and double-doused the smoldering wood to make sure the fire was completely out. They also climbed up into the attic to make sure the fire hadn’t spread to the roof structure. After their inspection, the house was deemed safe and stable. The fire had completely destroyed the neighbor’s back porch, but no damage at all was done to the interior of my neighbor’s house. There was just minor smoke damage.
Friends, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that my neighbors could have lost their home that night if not for a small, seemingly insignificant garden hose. I was amazed by the speed with which that fire was spreading. In my mind, my little garden hose wasn’t sufficient, and my amateurish attempts at fighting fire were laughable. My neighbors needed professional tools and professional help, but all that was available at the moment was little ol’ me … and a little ol’ garden hose. BUT … THAT DID THE TRICK!
Keeping all this in mind, I’d like to present you with this challenging thought. Don’t underestimate what you are able to do in the midst of the current problems we face in our world today. Sure, there might be people out there who are more qualified than you to handle the crazy situations we are facing in our world. There are people with more expertise, education and experience, too. But, the place you’re in, at this particular moment in time, is strategic. You can make a difference with the limited qualifications and experience you have. Be a blessing to those around you. Help and serve with the resources you have at your disposal. Don’t wait on the government to step in. Don’t wait for city officials to do something. Take the little you have now and give it to the Lord in service to others. You’ll be surprised what a difference you can make!
In Bible times, a young boy named David used a little ol’ sling and a stone to save Israel’s army from embarrassment when he defeated a great big enemy named Goliath. Jesus used a little ol’ sack lunch of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed 5,000 people. And, in more recent years, a little ol’ garden hose in my front yard put out a raging fire that could have destroyed my neighbor’s home. Take what you have, give it to the Lord, and watch Him bless it, and multiply it to help others. Now is the time to see God do extraordinary things with ordinary people. You were born for such a time as this!
“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?” - Esther 4:14
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