Today has been a somber day.

Part of it is the dark skies today. It seems like a day when it will rain at any moment. However, the sky is dark because of smoke from the wildfires in the area.

There have been some scattered rain storms that just seem to be missing our area. It looks like perhaps some thunderstorms may pass through later tonight. The rain would be welcome, but I hope that the lightning will not start any new fires.

Also, yesterday was the funeral of a family friend who I have always associated with Bible Camps, so this has added to the somberness of today.

But, I think the largest contributor to the somberness of the day is that I learned this morning of the passing of a friend from my school days. I found out just as the second on-line service I attended this morning started and I was distracted throughout the entire service. So many memories came flooding back. She was the little sister of one of my best friends in school. He passed away only a few years back shortly after the large wildfires in Kansas. I had been thinking of her family earlier this week because of the fires here.

My thoughts also wandered to horses and Westerns and many other memories of spending time with the family of my friend. They lived on a small ranch and I would go out to visit them. One memory I have is trying to learn how to drive a truck so that my friend could load bales of hay while I moved the truck forward. I must have been about 12 or 13 at the time.

So many memories….

Many prayers are needed for people to be safe from the fires and for the families of my friends who have lost loved ones.

Steven