(Please read slowly and carefully, re-reading when necessary, because many sentences are packed and loaded.)

When I was growing up, we always had fire prevention week, and everyone had to make a fire prevention poster.  I don’t know if they still do that in schools today, but everybody of every age knows about dialing 911 for the fire department.

I wonder what the percentage is of people who have used a fire extinguisher on a real fire emergency.  Did you ever stop to think about what is in a fire extinguisher?  Some have water.  Some have chemicals to smother a fire by blocking access to oxygen.

What if someone bent on evil and terror had filled fire extinguishers with gasoline, without labeling.  I don’t need to describe the chaos and destruction, and injury and death.

Now consider the family—marriage needs fire prevention.  Sometimes a poster will help, sometimes a fire prevention week.  And sometimes prevention doesn’t happen.

Sometimes a fire starts in a family, and nobody on the outside knows about it, even when it gets fully involved.   The most common ingredient (fuel, if you will) is secrecy, because of embarrassment if anyone knew their family was on fire.

Fire extinguishers are great, before a house fire or a family fire is fully involved.  In a family fire, the natural inclination to to think they can handle it themselves.  And here is the tragedy.  Usually the family fire extinguishers are filled with gasoline.

Individuals using these family fire extinguishers filled with gasoline believe the ingredient labels say:  “I’m right, you’re controlling—I’m out of here—you don’t love me—if I can put you out, I can escape the fire—you lose, I win.”

So the typical family fire quickly becomes fully involved—that is, fully involved use of the above ingredients, and more.

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Why, Oh Why ?   Seems like ‘everybody’s doing it,’ and where are the first responders ?  Where was the fire prevention when it could have helped ?

You know the saying, “Firefighters and police (and other emergency personnel) don’t usually prevent fires or crime, they can only investigate after the fact”—or, if they get to the scene in time, they might limit the devastation.

Perhaps the current dilemma discarding support for police, with their resulting reluctance or reduced authority to respond to certain situations—perhaps there is a parallel in the disregard, the discarding of support for families, with the resulting reluctance or perceived incompetence for anyone to respond to risky, unpleasant family fires.  And so, one more time a judge says, “Have it your way.”

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Where are you ?  Where am I ?  When a family we know is gonna blow.

When we see or hear signs of impending terrorism, we’re supposed to ‘say something, do something.’

When we see or hear signs of the devil’s terrorism in a family, we must say something and do something.

Abandon the mantra to leave counseling to the professionals—there aren’t enough, and there isn’t enough time.

You and I may be in the right place and the right time to make a difference in somebody’s life, and in somebody’s family.

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Prevention ?

Fire prevention, crime prevention requires more than answering 911 calls.  It calls for personal presence on the streets and changing potential hazards before they erupt.  Most personnel instinctively know what it takes, IF they have the freedom to spend time with their people to develop relationships that motivate to do right.

Family fire prevention also calls for personal presence—people, friends, time—to develop personal relationships that motivate to do right.

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And, if we pray for a time, a place, a person to talk to—that prayer is likely to be answered.

Personal note—I wrote this to me also, to encourage and commit myself to do what I said.