Briget’s Blog

It’s been a really long time since we’ve used our barbecue. Seth bought a few steaks the other night. As busy as we’ve been, I hadn’t been able to cook them. Yet another night was going to pass without being able to cook them.

Tonight was my turn to watch children for our Mom’s Share & Care and Miss Keli Burdick was coming over to help. I didn’t have enough steaks for all 12 children and 3 adults we were going to be feeding, so I had an idea. I had corn dogs and Keli was bringing tater-tots!! Ok, so the grown ups can have steak and the kids can have corn dogs. GREAT!!

I asked Seth to go put some propane in the tank and clean the barbecue, no problem. Well…slight problem: when he was in the car there was a strong gas smell. He found out there was a leak in the tank, so he exchanged it for a new one. No big deal, right?

By 7:00 pm, kids are fed and I can finally put the steaks on the grill & we can eat. I left the fire on so that the food would burn off & I’d come back & brush it all off. We enjoyed our dinner without too many interruptions. We had the baby in her high chair sitting by us at the table so we could still talk, eat & keep her happy (except for when she threw up on me and when Seth made her cry!).

The evening was great! I love it when I get a chance to fellowship with a sister-in-Christ at the same time as serving other moms, giving them a night out.

I was standing by the sink talking to Seth, taking a drink of water and suddenly remembered…I LEFT THE BARBECUE ON!! OMGoodness!! I ran outside. I mean, it wasn’t that big a deal, but I didn’t want to waste all the gas we had just spent money on. I should know better. I do it every time! I ALWAYS forget to go back out & clean the grill!! Usually I remember sooner. It had been a few hours. Since we had 12 kids tonight, I was just a little bit pre-occupied.

So what do you think this smart, Dean’s List, honor student, wise mom does?? Seeing no flame, I immediately push the ignition button to see if it lights so that I’d know if there’s any gas left. There was gas, all right!! POOOOOFFFFFFF!!! Flame & ash, right in my face. SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME. I smelled singed hair and I was brushing the ash off my face and praying that I wasn’t burned!! Oddly enough, it wasn’t hot! Seth saw it and was running over to me. “I’M OKAY!! REALLY! I AM!! I’M NOT BURNED.” Don’t worry…I’m still pretty! LOL! I was turned around holding my face. Then I ran into the bathroom because my eyes burned from the ash particles that flew at me. I had black speckles all over my eyeballs. I told Seth I kept smelling hair and it was getting stronger. My hair is a little bit singed, but not enough for what I was smelling. Seth said it was probably my in my nose. I blew my nose (gross, I know) and sure enough…ALL BLACK. Not only will the smell not go away, but I’m tasting the smell of burnt hair! It’s like tasting HELL!!

The Lord had his hand over me for sure! My face didn’t get burned. My eyebrows & eyelashes are fine. A little bit of the hair on my head and inside my nose got singed. WOW! How awesome is God?? It’s amazing to me! Smelling burnt, singed hair (for however long it lasts) is just a reminder to me and a little taste (so to speak) of what people are experiencing in hell. Man, was my brief experience awful. Imagine burning for ETERNITY!

Jesus loves me. This I know!!

HA HA! I just remembered it’s Friday the 13th!!