Starting a Fire From Lemon Seeds

I've had a couple of fire - shall we say - mishaps.

The first happened because I had a confidential document for my former boss that I couldn't just throw away. Not owning a shredder, I'd had to tear up this ever-changing document into tiny pieces when I needed to dispose of it. One day, it occurred to me that it would be faster just to burn the document in the kitchen sink. It sounded safe to me - and easy. (I wonder how many houses have burned to the ground after such a thought.)

I lit the corner of the paper, amazed at how quickly the flame grew. I realized that it wouldn't take much to catch the window valance over my kitchen sink on fire. After a moment of sheer terror, I realized I could put the growing fire out by just turning on the water.

As I recovered from being scared half to death, I realized that our home smelled like a camp fire. And it continued to smell this way for days. Although it was very chilly outside, we kept the windows open, hoping that the smell would dissipate. Which eventually it did.

My next fire scare came a few weeks later after I had burned popcorn in our microwave. That smell lingered longer than the burned document smell. After a few days of saying "eeeeewwww!" every time we used the microwave, I decided to look on the Internet for a cure. I read a number of recommendations that microwaving lemon juice or vinegar until it evaporates will take care of the smell. My husband detests the smell of vinegar so I opted for the alternative.

I squeezed out all the juice from half a lemon into a Pyrex measuring cup. When the seeds dropped into the cup, I decided to leave them in there, actually - consciously - thinking that perhaps the seeds would help the smell in the same way lemon rind can give off a nice aroma.

I started the microwave and set the timer for five minutes after which it appeared that none of the juice had evaporated. So I set the timer for another fifteen minutes and left the room to answer some emails. I had all but forgotten about the microwave when I heard a strange buzzing sound. At first, I thought it was coming from a car outside but I quickly realized that the sound was coming from the kitchen. As I entered the kitchen doorway, I saw flames shooting up from the Pyrex cup. Thoughts of "my husband's not home" and "wow, that is a huge flame" and "Jesus, Save Me!" all ran through my head. I didn't know what to do but had to do something so I opened the door of the microwave and thankfully the flame died down. It was (somewhat) safe enough to pull the cup from the microwave so I grabbed a potholder and directed the cup under the faucet where I ran the water to put out the remaining fire. After seeing that the inside of the microwave had melted from the flame, I pulled the plug to the microwave. This new smell was actually worse than before. And, I had successfully killed the microwave. And the Pyrex cup.

Let me tell you, when you see a flame that isn't under control, you think about your life.

Both of my fire mishaps were caused by stupidity on my part, but my life isn't ultimately under my control. I could be on earth for another 40 - 50 years or I could light something else on fire this afternoon.

Because I belong to God, I'm okay either way. Knowing that it was God who kept me safe from the microwave fire, made me fall to my knees and weep at His goodness to me. I could have easily been in the bathroom when the fire started and would never have known what happened - but I was alerted to the noise in the kitchen. The flame in the microwave might have become greater by opening the microwave door thereby catching the above cabinets on fire - but the oxygen from the room didn't make the fire increase at all.

God has determined the time set for me and the exact places where I will live (Acts 17:26). And He has done the same for you. Your life isn't random. The very next verse in Acts tells us why: God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

God is near. Even when you start a fire with lemon seeds.

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for caring about my life. Thank you for determining the length of my life and the exact places where I will live. I'm so glad that our lives have a purpose. Please make my life a blessing to You and to others for Your glory.
In Jesus' Precious Name,
Amen