Fire is essential to life. Anyone who ever watched the TV show "Survivor" and other survival shows knows that the ability to create fire is not just for comfort, it helps sustain life. Keeping a fire alive is serious business when you do not have matches readily available.
In these cold winter months, a fire in the fireplace will always be one of my favorite things. With fire we can heat food, boil water, and even start controlled burns that are beneficial to the land for nourishment and pest control. Matches are an essential tool we take for granted, until we do not have one.
We have fancy lighters to start fires, but they are unpredictable and must be replaced often. A book of matches is perfect for emergencies. A big box of matches is a treasure in emergency situations when candles become a main light source during power outages.
A book of matches used to be a common wedding favor. It was something to take home at the end of the celebration. The name of the couple and their wedding date was on the front. It was a great idea.
Have you ever been in a moment where you need more matches than you have in the book or box? You have to get creative at passing the fire along, while still maintaining safety.
Imagine the wonder of the Israelites the first time God placed a fire in the cloud by night to guide them! What a sight it must have been. How long did it take... over the course of 40 years... for them to lose the wonder of it all?
"So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels." -Exodus 40:38
Have I lost the wonder found in the instant fire that can come from a single match? Probably. So today we will pause to give thanks for the simple, portable, inexpensive match.
Today, I am grateful for matches.
