What does an apartment flood, a house fire, and a stolen car all have in common?
My family.
We have walked through each of these trying times, and by His grace have walked out stronger and with a greater appreciation of each other, our community, and how material things are just possessions.
Yes, just possessions.
It was October 6, 2004, and I was pregnant with our sixth son. I was having a rough time and was ill from this pregnancy. My mom had taken our 18 month old to her house. My hubby and oldest were off to football, and I had taken the middle 3 boys to their weekly church program. I was coming home to soak in the bathtub and enjoy the quiet. Instead, I pulled up to firefighters kicking out the windows to our burning house. I am so thankful none of the boys were in the car, since that sight gave me nightmares for weeks. More thankfully, none of us were home, since the fire started in the box of firewood, we were told none of us would’ve survived. The fire burned so hot, it melted the smoke detectors.
The events that happened next are the part I really want to share with you, my friends…
The sweetest elderly couple in a Red Cross van came to us that evening, provided basic clothes, toiletries, and necessities. We had friends and neighbors bringing blankets and food. The Red Cross put us up in a hotel for a night, and then we stayed with family for the rest of the week. Our church was truly God’s hands and feet to us — there anytime we needed. Our van had died in this time, too, leaving my boys and myself stuck in a busy intersection. So they had an anonymous donor buy us, a new van to us. We found a rental house only six days later, and the Red Cross put down our deposit. Our church then completely furnished the house, including a generously stocked fridge.
Our football organization held fundraisers and collections for household items and clothes. We had people calling and trying to explain the connection to our family through a friend or just how they had heard of our situation — could they just drop off some money?
My hubby worked at Cincinnati’s Xavier University at the time, and the student athletes put on a Christmas party; they filled our new van so full we could hardly get it all home!
The outpouring of love, grace, and openhandedness from local churches, sports organizations, Red Cross, Coats for Kids, and so many more friends of friends was just amazing.
Friends, I know we are all busy, but when given the chance, I encourage you to be a part of your community as much as possible. Join a church, a sports team, organization, or a community group. You may start out thinking you are there to help someone else, but the person you will help the most is yourself.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
— Mahatma Ghandi
Respectfully,
AW
Iam a personal friend of the amazing women who wrote this blog. If AW, her husband & her children understood the impact that they’ve had on myself & my child’s faith as a Christian they would see that they are all truly soldiers of The Lord. Many story’s & pep talks have been shared with me by AW and her husband that will forever be in my heart. Amazing people.
This story is amazing and the fuel for the long simmering fire in me. I want to help like this. Wow. Thank you for sharing this. God really opened your eyes during that time too! I love that!