Remembering - Part 1

When you walk through fire you will not be burned,
nor shall the flame scorch you.

Fear not, I have redeemed you.
You are Mine.

Isaiah 43

This month always reminds me of how incredibly blessed I am. I am blessed with life, with more "stuff" than I need, with two cars, with a home, with amazing friends and family and with a mighty God who cares about ME and all the intricate details of my life. This experience taught me so much that I would like to share parts of the story with you over the next couple weeks. My hope is that you and your families reflect on your own personal experiences and blessings as well.

November 4th marked the 3rd anniversary since our family home was destroyed by fire. The sadness about our losses and the the "what could have been" scenarios are gone now, but the lessons learned are far from forgotten.

We so easily take for granted that we wake up to the morning sun and find that our families are all safe and all is as it should be in our small world. The morning of Nov 4, 2006 my family woke up with nothing to call our own. Nothing of material value anyway. What we did have was each other and I remember laying next to Billy thanking God for him and for what he means to me. I remember thanking God for my children and promising that I would not take for granted their lives that were saved so that I might enjoy them and get to be their mommy for many more years. I made a promise to God that day that I would raise my children to serve His kindgdom. I continue to pray that I will be able to show my kids who God is by my example through every day living. That they would have a real relationship with Him so that they would know when they are called to serve Him and that they would have the courage to follow through.

We thank God often for our home, our food in the pantry, our clothing and our cars. It seems like this is the norm for a working family, but when we had none of it to call our own I realized that this is God's provision for us and it should not be taken for granted. It can be stripped away at any time, but the GOOD NEWS is that we don't need it. There are amazing people out there that will step up and love on those in need in a way that is indescribable. I cannot even express how deeply people witnessed to me through this experience with their written sentiments, their sacrifices to help us financially and emotionally.

When we moved into our 2300 sq foot rental house with four boxes of personal belongings you can imagine how the world felt different. And now we've made it through the torturous paperwork and decisions to buy two cars, a home, all new belongings, etc and it just makes me smile at the way God works.

Naked I came from my mother's womb,

Naked I shall depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away,

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Job 1:21

*If you click on the picture at the top it should take you to view all photos and descriptions of our home after the fire.

I think you'll need a snapfish sign-in though.