“He gives you a future filled with hope – one of success,
not of suffering." ~ Jeremiah 29:11
Madison O’Reilly could've been a
teacher or lawyer. Friendly yet measured,
she always managed to look fabulous – except when she’s at work. Her office was not a classroom or a
courtroom. Her's was the Detroit
fire station.
Long, wavy blonde hair framed striking good looks. Big, blue-green eyes were often hidden by a
smoke stained face shield. Firefighting
is sweaty, hot, and extremely dangerous work, but Madison found it fascinating;
she loved the thrill of saving somebody's life.
The thing about being a firefighter is that you’re never
really off the clock. O’Reilly was
enjoying some off-duty time when she saw smoke coming from a nearby
high-rise. After phoning 911, she headed
for the apartment complex.
“My son’s inside,” said a panicked father. “I tried to find him but the smoke got too
thick too fast,” he gestured helplessly not knowing that Madison was a trained
professional.
She entered the building, making her way up 22 flights of
the stairs with none of her equipment and no backup. Madison fought through a wall of blinding
smoke and as she entered the burning apartment on hands and knees. No sign anybody was home.
Keen eyes, however, spotted a medical oxygen line trailing
into the closet. Following it, she
uncovered a young boy curled beneath a pile of wet blankets. Pretty smart kid she thought.
O’Reilly grabbed the unconscious boy and charged through the
blaze and acrid smoke, carrying him down the stairs, stopping occasionally to
provide chest compressions. With her ‘capture’
nestled in arms burning from exhaustion, Madison emerged from the building as a
nervous crowd watched intently.
Then she saw him - the father of the once-unaccounted-for 11-year
boy. Terror-stricken eyes fixed on him
as she handed her lifeless ‘recovery’ to nearby paramedics. They desperately tried to wake the boy . . .
to no avail; he remained limp and unresponsive as they strapped him to a gurney.
The ambulance raced away, sirens
blazing and tires squealing.
Madison faded into seclusion, memories of past victories
replaced by a single tragedy. She hated
the heartbreak of losing anybody, especially a child. Time slowed.
Sirens weakened as did the pulse in Madison’s ears. She breathed in one last breath of the fresh
air before returning home – all in a day’s work.
That was exactly 29 years ago. Thank God my wife risked her life and carried
the father of our grandchildren out of our apartment complex as it burned to
the ground.
Sometimes we blame God as if He designed a sinister life plan
for us laced with agony and defeat. Not
so! Our God planned the absolute best
for each one of us. It is a perfect plan
. . . to a heavenly future.
Loving Father, great are my failings and my sinfulness,
but even greater is my hope in You. It
is stronger than my weakness, greater than my difficulties, and even mightier
than death. Amen
