burn baby burn

Last May, my family's law office burnt. Not all the way to the ground burnt, but burnt as in there was nothing left inside. Basically all that survived were some of the more metal objects and the structure that encompassed what used to be an office. A thriving place of activity and work.

It took years to build up the office. We literally work years on making it what we needed it to be. Situating it so that it we could work within it as best as we could. The basic frame of the office never changed, but the insides changed over and over again. And within a few terrible hours, it was all gone. And there was nothing I could do. Except, that when it was all over, I could help pick up the pieces. Rebuild what once was and helped make it better than before.

Someone once said, "Love is friendship set on fire."

Right now, I feel as if I'm sitting in the middle of the forest fire season in California. To my left are burning acres, and to my right are the acres that have been scorched and left to smolder.

I have two sets of friends. Four people who are fairly significant people in my life who are playing with such fire.

Two of the friends were already best friends when I met them. And as time progressed, their friendship caught fire and grew into something more. Then as quickly as it had begun, their fire burnt out and their friendship became less than it was before. While the fire burnt, it was full of heat and color and was absolutely wonderful. But when it was over, the only thing left was the bare structure. And even that was barely standing.

I have another set of friends. And their friendship is flickering. Its not quite a blaze yet, or even really a flame. But there is heat and its starting to burn. I just don't know what to do.

What keeps one fire burning while another smolders out? What causes one flame to endure while another dwindles into less than before and wrecks its devastation? And what do we do when we are the ones watching things burn?

I guess what I do in this situation is what I did with my family. I wait around and help pick up the pieces. I wait for the fire to burn or not burn, and if things go wrong, I help pick the pieces back up. I support what is still standing. I have faith that what is burning will continue to burn. And that what has burnt up will be able to burn again.