The littlest fireman
Once there was a little boy who loved playing like he was a fireman. He wore fireman coveralls and he ran around with a toy firetruck in his hand that made sounds like a real siren.
The little boy was friends with everyone. When he was in a new neighborhood because his mom had moved, before the day was over he had visited all the neighbors on his little bicycle or scooter and had met them all and knew all their names.
The neighbors all smiled and said, “there goes the littlest fireman” and they nodded their heads and waved.
When he grew up, the littlest fireman worked very hard at everything he did. First he sold shoes. Everyone wanted to buy his shoes because he was so friendly.
Then he started a club. It was a running club because the Littlest fireman was very fast at everything he did. Everyone wanted to be in his running club because he was so friendly. The littlest fireman was so fast at running because he had been fast at getting there first …or being a first responder. When he saw a problem, he was quick to do something about it…he was quick to help.
People waved and smiled at him and said, “there goes a born leader, I heard that when he was little he wanted to be a fireman”.
By this time the littlest fireman was living far away from the place where his mother grew up. By this time he was not little, in fact he was tall, almost six and a half feet tall. He was not little any more.
One day he heard that there had been a big storm in the state where his mother had been born. The littlest Fireman knew people in that remote community, because that was the way he was, someone who was quick to meet people, and was friendly to them, and knew who they were, even years later.
But, the littlest Fireman had learned though that no matter how fast a person responds, even if they were as fast as he was, there is someone greater who responds even faster.
Not the fire station.
Not the police Station.
Not even the government.
So he knew that in order to get the best help to the people who were suffering from the storm, he would have to use his NEW CONNECTION.
That connection had a network that was unbelievable, that spanned the entire globe.
So he did not get on his phone.
He did not get on his computer.
He got on his knees. And he prayed for help for the people in that far away place who were suffering.
As if by magic, people in the rest of the state started mobilizing. But it was not magic…because prayer is something that can be trusted.
It was almost Christmas, and there was now snow in the mountains of this state so the response would have to be fastest ever. The people would be cold. Food would be hard to come by.
There were rooms reserved at the inn in the major cities, but the major cities were far away from the mountains so people could not travel to them because of the storm damage. So there might as well have been no room at the inns.
But there were donkeys and mules and horses that could navigate the roads through the rough terrain. There were hikers and bikers and runners that could bring in trailers and haulers and trucks…there were people who responded to prayer.
There were blankets and shoes and drinks. The neighbors who lived to the north and lived to the south and lived to the east and lived to the west who were near and who were not so near, the suffering towns in the mountains rose up and put forth from their bounty to those who had need. IT was a beautiful thing to behold.
Neighbor reaching out a helping hand to neighbor. New friendships being made. New houses being built. Families being put back together. A country divided, being brought back together. Honesty and integrity, put back on the table for all to see. All because of Prayer, and a little boy who had always wanted to be a fireman.
And like the ancient times, when Jesus was born, there is still a light or a bright new star in the sky, guiding and illuminating.
Thank You God for this new day and I know you hear me always.