  was on the return side of a road trip through Arizona last September. A car was ablaze on the side of busy interstate 40. Unoccupied, & blazing with such ferocity that the driver & I sat silent for a long time after we passed the scene. Hoping no one had been hurt, it was a forceful reminder of the fragility of not just human life, but of those objects in which we instill our trust.
We put our children in the backseat. We drive to the hospital with ailing elders strapped into the passenger side. And yet, one day, when you're driving along & everything's fine... and before you can react, something goes wrong. Bang. Up in flames. Tonight, as I write these words, the last few flames which engulfed a local church are degenerating down into embers.
Again, before you know it, something we put our faith in is suddenly gone, & you're sitting on the side of the road thinking, "I brought my children here. I came here with my grandparents. " A diligent reminder of the impermanence of material things. All that is created, is eventually destroyed. I saved a burnt piece of shingle to look at whenever I think I'm indestructible. Babylon is falling. All that is created, will be destroyed... 
