House Fire and Brimstone
Mrs. Martha sat on the last pew as she always did, concealed from the eyes of the toe-stomping preacher who was well aware of her habits. As he wandered around the pulpit during the sermon, she would lean a little to either side in order to avoid him. It was very convenient that she sat behind Charlotte Honeycutt, the lady whose beehive hairdon't had somehow lasted not just through the sixties, but all the way to the early eighties. It provided a perfect shield between the preacher's prying eyes and those of Mrs. Martha.
Martha was hidden from the preacher's eyes; however, she was neither hidden from the words he spoke nor from the feelings in her heart. She tried hard to divert her attention elsewhere so she thought of the situation she had left at home- the roast that had added a divine fragrance to the house was sure to be done very soon.
After a few brief thoughts of the roast, things began to intensify. The preacher's voice elevated as did the fervor with which his words were delivered.
Martha began to take his words to heart and a flame was kindled. Smoke began to appear and Martha’s friends and neighbors who were nearby noticed. Before long the fire that had been kindled began to spread. Martha, who had only gone to church to dispute the reputation she had earned, was feeling the real reason others attended. Her heart began to pound and she knew it was God asking her to change her ways.
Martha knew something needed to be done, but she did not know what it was. The preacher invited her to the altar to pray and she walked down intent on putting the fire out.
As she stepped forward, she heard the siren of a fire engine headed in the direction of her house. She thought about the irony of the situation. She was on fire and in need of something to put the fire out, and there was a fire engine screaming past presumably to put out a fire.
She knelt reverently at the altar and began to pray for the fire to be quenched. Relief rained down and extinguished her fire. The preacher stood over her and promised her that she had everything she needed to get back on her feet. He told her that her earthly home was no longer anything to look joyfully upon, but that she had a new home coming her way and that the price had already been paid for it.
Martha left the church a changed lady. She had a whole new outlook on life. She had joy, peace, and assurance that God would provide her a new home just like the pastor said.
She was starving as she drove into her driveway, but she had this terrible feeling her roast had burned and that lunch would have to come from elsewhere. As always, she had no idea where she would lay her head that night, but she knew without a doubt that everything was going to be alright and sleep would come easy. In one way, she had lost so much. In yet another, she had gained all she’d ever need.