Don’s story | The voice in the fire

“‘But what about you?’ Jesus asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’” (Mark 8:29)

“There was a major fire in Parkes, in 1983. A fuel tanker caught fire and it was pretty serious. The flames were a couple of miles in the air and the tanker was only 100m from the local school. If it exploded it would take out all of Parkes, including the 1500 kids at the school. I was in the fire brigade back then, and there was only 8 of us. My partner and I were on one side of the tanker. It was getting worse and worse. We’d run out of water, and the heat and noise were unbelievable. We were totally out of control. I was only thinking of the school kids. At one point, my partner and I said goodbye to each other. We knew we’d given it our best shot and we were waiting for the bang.

Then a voice said to me, “Give it one more go.”

So, we did. We gave it one more go. We were soaked in fuel, but somehow, we were able to cool down the tanker and it didn’t explode.

For the next 35 years, I thought about that voice, a lot. I couldn’t work out who was talking to me. Back then, my wife had been involved in the church, but I only went with her on special occasions. It didn’t mean anything to me. I was just believing in myself.

Then about three years ago, the relieving minister at church came to talk to me. We had a bit of a yarn, and I told him all about the fire and the voice.

He said, “That was God talking to you.”

I had to think about it. I wasn’t sure. My mother had been a churchgoer, when I was a kid, but she was a nasty piece of work. She was violent and vindictive, so it meant I grew up with a lot of trauma and questions. But then, while I was thinking about what the minister said, there was a concert, at church, and I went along. The singer had the most beautiful voice. In between songs, she spoke about her life, very quietly. It turned out her life was the mirror image of mine, exactly the same story, the same violence in her home. I wondered how it could be. But hearing her definitely helped. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone in the world. She said it doesn’t matter what we’ve been through, God has given us a gift.

Afterwards, I kept thinking about life, and God, and wondering why things happen. I started going to church all the time, with my wife, and reading the Bible – the Gospel of Mark. I realised that Jesus was a revolutionary who came to a system that was corrupt. As humans, we’re worshipping money and monuments, but Jesus said we should help mankind. Since then, I’ve started helping in Anglicare, in the food bank, giving food to people.

I feel more settled, now. It was three years ago, now, the concert. At the time, they asked if anyone was ready to come to Jesus, in faith – to trust him. My wife stood up. I didn’t stand up, back then. I wasn’t ready. But I’m ready now.”

“‘But what about you?’ Jesus asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’” (Mark 8:29)

Don’s story is part of the Faith Stories series, compiled by Naomi Reed.

Visit Koorong to purchase Naomi’s Faith Stories book, Every Moment, Everywhere: https://koorong.com/everymoment