My Firemen

Last night, like soooo many other times in the past, when the pagers in our house went off and woke me from my sound sleep, my heart began racing -- again like soooo many other times in the past. You see, my husband and both our boys are volunteer firemen/first responders, and every time they answer a call, the potential is there for none of the three to come back home -- ever again. That is quite a sobering thought! I could all of a sudden find myself "husbandless" and "childless" all in one fail swoop. I try not to think about it too much, though, because -- well, it's honestly too much to even imagine!

My guys absolutely love their role as firefighters/first responders, and even though everything they do is on a volunteer basis, they take their role very seriously. Many times, on snowy/icy mornings or nights, they have jumped a guardrail in an effort to escape a sliding vehicle careening out of control, and many times they have run into a burning structure in an effort to extinguish flames and insure the safety of those who may be inside -- all the while giving no thought for their own danger.

I'm very proud of the three of them (as well as all other such volunteers who place their lives in jeopardy on a daily basis), and while it would be more devastating than I can even comprehend to lose them in the line of duty, I know that were such a horrible fate to happen they would die doing something they believed in with all their hearts.

So, on nights like last night, when they were called out to a possible structure fire; anytime they are called to work a wreck somewhere; and every time they crawl into their personal vehicles to answer a call -- no matter what it is -- I do the only thing I can do to help them -- PRAY, PRAY, PRAY AND PRAY SOME MORE!

Thank you, God, for my volunteers!