Burning for 48 years... and counting

I recently had a birthday - another birthday! While I don't really feel my age, on paper I am pretty old. I remember when TV was only seen in black and white, radio only played on am stations, there were no seat-belts in cars (or if there were, no one ever used them,) and running shoes where usually a really good pair of high-top converse'. I was born before Kennedy was assassinated, before the Beatles came to the United States, and the conflict of the Vietnam war. I was even born before the first man ever walked on the moon. A lot of things have been invented and or became house hold items since the year 1962. Being "my age" actually has a lot of advantages. I love that I am still young enough to do all the active things that I do and yet old enough that my kids don't need a baby sitter and in fact they can be left home alone for days at a time. Oh sure there are things that come with "aging." Like having a little more gas at the most inconvenient times, or like the "spare tire" of fat that accumulates just above the waste line, in my back, creating that all too attractive "muffin top." Yeah I love that one...but hey, all of this is better than the alternative.
But...
Today i read a story of a town that has been disappearing over the last 48 years. In the year 1962 a fire started burning in a coal mine and is still burning today. They say it may burn for another 100 years! At any rate, over the years, homes and businesses have had to be evacuated because of the Carbon Monoxide that was poisoning the air they were breathing. There is even an incident where a 12 year old boy fell through the ground - a sink hole - into some of the burning coal. He lived, but just barely. Today there are less than 5 homes still standing. One of the homes is the Mayor's - he is 86. The government has been trying to get ALL of the residence to leave since the early 80's, but these die hards just can't leave. They love their town in the mountains of Pennsylvania.
In my life, I have seen a lot of progress and growth. Today, after reading that story, I realized that truly there is opposition in all things! People in Centralia, PA have seen a lot of regression, and shrinkage. A once booming mining town is now a cluster of five houses that are inevitably going to be gone before the year is over. The only way any one will know there was ever anything there are the streets that are still paved and street light polls that still stand.
I don't even live there, and will probably never even visit the sight, and yet I felt sad for those who have had to leave their homes and a town they loved. For some it was the only home they had ever known!
I was also struck with the fact that a fire could be burning for 48 years! It hit me that that is how long I have been alive. That is a long time!!! It just goes to show that the element of fire has its own life and its own purpose.

In the scriptures the Holy Ghost is compared to a fire that "burns in your bosoms." Or some times even represented as a flame, as in the parable of the Bride Groom. I hope we will all be the coal that keeps this fire of the Holy Ghost burning for our whole life. And I hope we never do anything to put out the fire that burns in our hearts of the knowledge of Jesus Christ's love for us.
Fire is a powerful element that can either destroy or create power. Fire has destroyed many forests, many homes, and many towns. But fire has also powered many trains and ships filled with travelers who are searching for something different, something better. A fire is something that burns inside of each of us. It will either destroy our spirit for doing good, or give us power to strive for something better, something different. Lets let that fire drive us toward making covenants with our Heavenly Father, and toward serving our fellowmen.