A week AFTER the fire....

Here we are, a little over a week after a fire destroyed our home.  It turns out my husband’s mini-refrigerator in his sports room (man cave) was credited with starting an electrical fire.  The firemen and/or insurance company made the decision to CONDEMN our home – so our home will be rebuilt.  Honestly, I haven’t been back inside our home.  It’s not that I’m fearful; I just don’t need to see it.  I know it was real and the damage was extensive.  The “stuff” can be replaced – the memories are in my heart.

The day after the fire was a Sunday – The Lord’s Day!  I KNEW I needed to attend Worship to thank God for our many blessings.  I was grateful to be alive and surrounded by all of my family members.  I have learned over the years (and the difficult times/events in my life) the easiest place for me to find healing is in HIS HOUSE (with HIS people).  I find the tears fall effortlessly.  It might be because I am surrounded by so many special brothers and sisters in Christ and I feel SO at home there.  Or it might be because He moves me when I am in His House.  Or it might be both!  I do know I feel extremely close to Him when I’m there and I can’t begin to explain the feeling.

I was moved to tears over and over by the generous gifts poured on our family by our Church family.  I was able to take the girls shopping that night and begin to purchase clothing for school (which meant the world to them)!

The next day was Monday, my 50^th birthday.  It’s funny, turning 50 was a LOT easier than I thought it would be – your perspective changes when you could have easily NOT turned 50!  After spending the day making calls to turn off utilities and running replacement errands, I didn’t care if we celebrated my birthday.  My husband came home and surprised me by taking all of us out for a celebration dinner.  I had no idea my son Peter, his wife Chelsea, and my sweet granddaughter Harper, were coming to join us!  We enjoyed a WONDERFUL evening together and at the completion, a realization hit me.  My three children were all at my side – healthy, alive, and happy!  I was TRULY a blessed woman!  I snapped a photo to capture the moment (along with some other celebratory shots!).

As the week wore on, I began to search for a reason(s) I wasn’t devastated.  The one thing that continued to come to mind was when our Church building burned in 1999.  It was our youngest daughter, Kristina’s, very first Sunday in Church.  That night the steeple was struck by lightning and our Church burned for several hours.  The following Sunday morning, we met to Worship and thank the Lord at the Jewish Community Center located next door.  We sang about being on fire for God!  The way the leadership dealt with the situation in such a positive way affected my life more than I initially thought.  I think I’m able to be so positive because I’ve been there, done that.  As always, I’m grateful for my Church family!