BOOK: Come to the Quiet

Come to the Quiet. Jim & Sally Hohnberger are quite the people. So are Tati & Dina. I just finished reading Come to the Quiet, which was written by Jim & Sally and given to us by Tati and Dina, and read by Charissa and then, as you may well remember, me.

Come to the quiet. Be simple. Work hard. Rest well. Play enough. Eat right. Listen to God. Talk to God. Have time for what matters. Pack light. But there's no way to avoid problems...

At one point during a protracted battle with a forest fire around their property, a fire crew sat and watched the Hohnbergers trying to save their home. The following quote starts with Mike, one of the crew chiefs, giving a speech that night in camp. Later, the Hohnbergers gave smoothies to the firefighters who were in the area, but the crew that had sat around didn't want to accept them. But that wasn't right, so the Hohnbergers made sure ALL the firefighters got cups of fruity, refreshing brrrness.

"When we watch a family fighting the fire and do not come to their aid, we have lost the total essence of what it means to be a firefighter. This has happened once. It must never happen again."

If you could sit tonight in heaven's fire camp and listen as Christ talked about the events of the day, what would He say? What stories would He tell of your area of responsibility? Did you see the ones in trouble today, the ones just barely hanging in amid the fire of sin, of immorality, of worldly influences, and of discouragement? Or did you only see the children in your family as the same boys and girls you see everyday and never really see the struggle of their lives? Did you see that person you married as an individual in need or only as your spouse and take them and their love for granted? Every one of us have people depending upon us. Are we being faithful to that trust? If not, don't hide off in the woods feeling bad abour your failure. Come forward, accept their forgiveness, and through the strength of Christ, determine that in the hour of danger you will never be found wanting again. (p. 185)

As we come to the quiet, let's keep our eyes open. If my pack is light, I'll be able to help carry someone else's.