What does an apartment flood, a house fire, and a stolen car all have in common?<\/p>\n
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My family.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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Yes, just possessions.<\/p>\n
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It was October 6, 2004, and I was pregnant with our sixth son.\u00a0 I was having a rough time and was ill from this pregnancy.\u00a0 My mom had taken our 18 month old to her house.\u00a0 My hubby and oldest were off to football, and I had taken the middle 3 boys to their weekly church program.\u00a0 I was coming home to soak in the bathtub and enjoy the quiet.\u00a0 Instead, I pulled up to firefighters kicking out the windows to our burning house.\u00a0 I am so thankful none of the boys were in the car, since that sight gave me nightmares for weeks.\u00a0 More thankfully, none of us were home, since the fire started in the box of firewood, we were told none of us would\u2019ve survived.\u00a0 The fire burned so hot, it melted the smoke detectors.<\/p>\n
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The events that happened next are the part I really want to share with you, my friends…<\/p>\n
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The sweetest elderly couple in a Red Cross van came to us that evening, provided basic clothes, toiletries, and necessities.\u00a0 We had friends and neighbors bringing blankets and food.\u00a0 The Red Cross put us up in a hotel for a night, and then we stayed with family for the rest of the week.\u00a0 Our church was truly God\u2019s hands and feet to us \u2014 there anytime we needed.\u00a0 Our van had died in this time, too, leaving my boys and myself stuck in a busy intersection.\u00a0 So they had an anonymous donor buy us, a new van to us.\u00a0 We found a rental house only six<\/b> days later, and the Red Cross put down our deposit.\u00a0 Our church then completely furnished the house, including a generously stocked fridge.<\/p>\n
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Our football organization held fundraisers and collections for household items and clothes.\u00a0 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 \u2014 could they just drop off some money?<\/i><\/p>\n
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My hubby worked at Cincinnati\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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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.\u00a0 Join a church, a sports team, organization, or a community group.\u00a0 You may start out thinking you are there to help someone else, but the person you will help the most is yourself.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n
\u2014 Mahatma Ghandi<\/p>\n
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Respectfully,<\/p>\n
AW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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. … <\/p>\n