On a Southern California autumn morning, I woke up to the smell of smoke. I imagined fire racing down the hillside toward my canyon home. Trembling, I went outside to determine where the fire was coming from. I saw it was coming from high on the crest of the Hollywood Hills. Then I called the fire department to check what the evacuation status was for our area. No evacuation was planned, but the fireman said that the winds were creating very unpredictable conditions.

I needed the peace, direction and certainty I could only find with God. I sat down to pray. I had with me my Bible and a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. I am accustomed to letting the inspiration and instruction from these books enrich and broaden my prayers.

I wanted to feel still and God-centered, and I knew these books would provide inspired ideas that would lift my fears. From this spiritually poised position, I could pray more effectively for the firemen and our hillside communities.

Through my understanding of Christian Science, I know that God’s nature does not include destructive, unpredictable or victimizing elements. God, as divine Parent, never created something to divide, to destroy, to harm Her creation. Nothing in God is opposed to good.

This was a powerful and important revelation.

In prayer, I asked: How do you view the fires, Father-Mother God? I had to humbly align myself with the feelings and messages from God; I couldn’t hold on to my human fears and expect to hear God at the same time.

But my quiet study was constantly interrupted with worries and thoughts: maybe I should put things in my car, get the cats in carriers, make some phone calls, set up sprinklers on the roof.

I exclaimed aloud, “Shut up!” And at that moment, it actually was a prayer. I had to shut down the fear so I could hear God’s messages. I knew deeply that the only information I needed was what I would hear from God’s angel thoughts.

The well-known Bible story of Elijah encouraged me thoroughly. He was confronted by wind, earthquake and fire, and realized that these destructive elements were not of God.

This reminded me of God’s omnipresence, which was free of fear and the hypnotic contemplation of disaster. I so wanted to be one with God’s view—to align myself with how God understood the situation.

Praying in this way brought to mind the account of Moses seeing the burning bush that was not consumed, and the dialogue with God that followed. God told Moses, “Certainly I will be with thee.” This message helped me, just as it must have helped Moses.

I also remembered something a friend had told me when she was praying about fires in our area. She had been very inspired by the Bible’s account of the three Hebrews who were thrown into a furnace of intense heat. Because of their trust in God, they were untouched by the fire—not even “the smell of fire had passed on them.”

That morning, I had planned to serve as chaplain in one of the Southern California penal institutions. I provided a Christian Science Sunday service and met with individuals who asked for spiritual counseling and prayer. Because of my concerns about the fire, I considered calling for a substitute.

But as I quietly listened for God’s guidance, this sentence from Science and Health came to thought: “Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way.”

I had now received so many ideas about God’s shepherding that I understood I could trust everything to God. In fact, the very clear and certain message came: “Go serve for Me.”

I struggled to be obedient. If I was claiming that God governs everything, and God is the only power, then I couldn’t let my fears, or the impressive feeling of power in the flames, govern my actions.

I held to the last line of the 23rd Psalm “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That meant I, my husband and my cats had a permanent dwelling in God’s house.

I realized I should perform the chaplain services. As I drove out of the canyon, right toward the smoke and flames, I was able to ignore the tug trying to get me to turn around and save the house.

I continued to hold to spiritual truths about God and Her home, God’s provision and protection, God as the only power. I prayed to know that the flames and the wind conditions could not scare me, or determine my actions. Only God and God’s presence was going to govern.

When I reached the penal institution, many inmates were concerned for their friends and family in the hillside communities. My prayers and reliance on God strengthened me so that I could be calm as I responded to their comments and also as I considered my own situation and what might be waiting for me when I got home.

I drove home through a rain of ash. Smoke and flames were visible on the hillsides. But I wasn't afraid—I had put my hand in God’s, and I relied solely on what God told me to do and think. I wasn’t going to stop now.

When I reached the top of our hill, there were no flames. The buildings were untouched, and no one was evacuated.

That evening, I continued to pray for regions that were still in danger. No matter how much power or fury the flames tried to evoke, or how much heat they were giving off, I knew that God’s care would be present for everyone in a form that would meet their needs.

Since that experience, I have been quick to pray for communities affected by fires, no matter where they are, because I have seen God’s care for me and for the people in my community.

Safety in God’s protection:

Science and Health
454:18-19

King James Bible
Dan. 3:26, 27
Ex. 3:10-12
Ps. 23:6