By Harley Smith
Hi! I’m Harley, the monthly writer of the Kidz Korner articles. In November, my American Heritage Girls troop camped out for two nights in Hillsborough State Park. We learned about fire safety and building the first night we were there. We learned about different types of fire starters (like flint and steel, magnesium, the bow and drill, and fire plough), types of firewood, types of fire frameworks, and first aid for burns.
The next day, the girls found dead cabbage palm leaves, pencil-lead-size sticks, and witch’s hair (a type of mossy thing) to burn and built the four different frameworks at the three different firepits and lit them. We had to keep our fires burning for at least five minutes, and then roast a marshmallow over them.
Keeping the fire going was harder than I anticipated, and because I don’t like my marshmallows burnt in the first place, I just held my marshmallow over the fire long enough for it to get gooey, then I ate it whole.
The experience was enjoyable, but there’s a lesson in it, too. Just like we have to stay safe around a fire and not walk too close, so we won’t get burnt, we have to stay safe from sin. Just like we need to build a fire in a safe place where a forest fire won’t start and then stay away, we need boundaries in our lives, so we don’t fall into the spiritual flames.
Harley Isabel Smith is a 4th grader who has been featured on TV as a philanthropist, has a heart for evangelism, and writes monthly for the Gazette’s Kid’s Corner. Visit https://harleyisabelsmith.com where she is constantly adding written and video content to entertain and educate children. Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”