Members of our church are currently going through very difficult times. Their beautiful home just–blew up!
I do not know any of the details about the cause of the explosion, when it happened, etc., for I have only been following the story through the pictures on facebook; but where there was once a beautiful home in the country, fully-furnished and full of all the important things that we all need, there is now nothing but a pile of rubble. And with winter coming on, times can’t get much harder than that.
I know that each one of you is facing hard times. The troubles that surround you may look very different than the complete loss of a home, but in one way or another, your negative situations are equivalent to the explosion that destroyed this church members’ home.
There were some other details of the story that I was privy to. In this home that is normally full of children and grandchildren, only two people were present at the time of the explosion. It didn’t happen at night, and as a result, the two occupants were not asleep. Neither were they down in the basement where the explosion occurred. These two made it out of the raging inferno unscathed, and they were even able to save 3 of their 4 pets.
Perhaps the part of the story that really brought tears to my eyes was the piece that was posted on facebook a few days later. A single, fire-scarred page of a bible was found in this family’s yard. It was from the Bible that had belonged to the mother of the lady of the house, and in the top right-hand corner there was a Bible text underlined and still readable. The text? Matt. 6:34: “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow, God will take care of your tomorrow. Live one day at a time.”
Perhaps the lessons to be learned from this story are many and multi-faceted, but the one I want to point out today is this: God does not abandon us to our troubles. Right in the midst of them, He is there, and His hand is upon us. He also leaves evidence of this so that at the moment of our greatest despair, we can feel His touch on our lives and remember His goodness, mercy and grace.
It’s true that sometimes we have to look for that evidence. I mean, the members of my church, upon finding this fire-scarred page, could have just chucked it into the garbage can without even looking at it. Being on the alert for evidence of God’s touch on our lives will help to ensure that when we most need it, we will see it…even–and perhaps especially!–in the midst of our biggest troubles.
Thank you, God, for taking care of this family. Thank you for keeping them safe and for leaving behind an important reminder that You have not abandoned them to their troubles. Help us to remember this story in the midst of our biggest problems. Help us to be on the alert for the evidence of Your touch on our lives. Help us to understand that no matter what, You have not abandoned us to our problems!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.