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“I might only have one match, but I can make an explosion.”

Fight Song, Rachel Platten

We don’t get very many, but in early February, we had a couple of snow days here in Oklahoma. It was the good kind, too. The heavy, wet kind, good for making snowmen and snow ice cream. The kids even got real snow days. You know, the kind where you don’t go to school, you get to sleep in, wear your jammies all day, watch movies, put puzzles together, and drink hot chocolate? (They don’t get many of those anymore, either, thanks to the introduction of virtual school.) It was the perfect snow to sit on the ground for a couple of days for some much-needed moisture. One might also say it was the perfect snow to go out and burn some extra-large brush piles to clean up your land.

So, that’s exactly what my husband did. He took a Friday afternoon off, bundled up because it was still snowing, and headed out to our land to burn the brush piles. The snow blanketed the ground and likely would for a couple of days—a small assurance the fire wouldn’t have anywhere to go because the ground would be too wet. He burned some on Friday and some on Saturday, but the brush was either too green or too wet to burn all the way down. So he did his best to put it out and left, thinking all was safe.

But then came the wind.

On Tuesday afternoon—three days later—my dad, who lives in the house on our land, noticed smoke coming from the back pasture. The wind had stirred the embers and caught the southwest corner of our pasture on fire. The fire department (God bless them!) came and had it out in no time. Thankfully it was contained only to our pasture. They left again, thinking all was safe.

But then the wind changed directions.

A couple hours later, embers from the same brush pile took off again, except this time it burned about 100 acres and came dangerously close to a neighbor’s home. It took at least four fire departments and some hands-on neighbors (God bless good neighbors!) to contain the fire this time. I know I’ve said it once, but I will say it as long as I live: GOD BLESS FIREFIGHTERS! It was only grass that burned on our land, but they got it out and, most importantly, they saved our neighbor’s home. Words cannot express how grateful I am.

As I have pondered this scenario the last few weeks, it got me thinking how one tiny little spark lit our pasture on fire. How a flame we thought had gone out, came roaring back with a vengeance and it only took one tiny ember to start a blazing fire.

Well, one tiny ember with the help of a little wind.

So, what is your ember? Maybe it’s a dream you thought you’d given up on. It could be a relationship hanging on by a thread. It could be a hobby you gave up on because, you know…life. Maybe it’s your God-given calling, but you thought God made a mistake, yet it nags at you day and night. For some reason, you carry the thought of it with you every day. Sometimes you even carry it for years. (And sometimes you literally carry it in your purse, but that’s a story for another day.) It pesters you every day, but yeah…God didn’t know what he was talking about. Think again, friend!

We all have an ember of something deep inside our soul. Maybe it lingers in the ashes of our failures, mistakes, regrets, or loss. Maybe it got lost as you built a family and put anything for yourself on the back burner. Whatever the reason, the ember is there and it’s fighting to stay alive. To burn. To set the world on fire.

Sometimes all we need is a little wind to get the fire going.

So, what will it take for you? What is the metaphorical wind you need to stir the embers in your soul? What will it take for you to step into your calling? What do you need to rekindle the fire you were certain had gone out? It could be a conversation with a trusted friend. Or perhaps a session or two with a counselor. (Yes. For the love of all that is holy, there is no shame in speaking to a counselor if you need to!) It might be a podcast or a quote or a song. Maybe a book or a sermon. It really can take something as simple as another human speaking into your life to get the fire going for you. It might seem insignificant at the time, but it might just be exactly what you need to hear. You just have to choose to listen!

For me it was a book I read about greatness and a sermon I heard about Moses. It wasn’t really anything I hadn’t heard before. I think I just chose to hear it differently this time. And, like an ember in the ever-changing wind, the dream I’ve been holding onto for 15 years came alive again.

Just as the wind comes from different directions, it might take two or three different attempts to get the fire going for you. Whatever it takes, pay attention to it. Hold it tight. White knuckle it. Carry it in your heart and even in your purse if you need to. One thing I know…that nagging deep in your soul is there for a reason.

Some fires, like the one on our land, are scary and dangerous and are meant to be put out.

Other fires, like the metaphorical embers of our hopes, the desires of our heart, and the gift of our calling, those fires were meant to be stoked.

And with the right amount of wind, those fires, friend…

Those fires were meant to roar.