On Monday morning, January 20, I woke up early as usual. Around 5:30am I went from the little house (an ADU in the backyard), to the living room in the main house to spend time reading my Bible. We were supposed to have returned to home in Belize, where we are missionaries, the Wednesday before, but had Influenza A and an airport fiasco that prevented us from leaving–which you can read about here. So we decided to extend our home ministry assignment in southern California until we could reschedule our trip home to Belize.
A little after 7am, I returned to the little house so that Ray and I could pray together. Not long after, our twenty-three year old daughter ran in our room saying there was a fire in the main house. We ran in and saw smoke billowing down the stove vent from the attic. The kids were already out and AnnaGrace was putting the harness and leash on my sister’s dog. My parents, who are in the back part of the house, gathered their medicines and car keys. Our kids, who had been sleeping in the main house right under where the fire began, were outside barefoot and without sweaters with weather in the 40s fahrenheit. So I went in our little house, which was completely unaffected, to get my socks, shoes and sweaters to share. By the time I got outside, the firefighters were already on the property and setting up. They later said they arrived just 4 minutes after Ray made the 911 call.
It was sad and surreal to see flames jumping out of the attic of the house my parents have owned since 1979. Several neighbors came out to help–one entered the smoky house to make sure everyone was out. He later said there was already smoke up to his neck. Others brought chairs for my parents to sit in, blankets against the cold, snacks for our kids, and warm coffee and tea. It didn’t take long before the fire was out and we were giving statements to the fire chief, debriefing with the Red Cross, figuring out where to stay for the night, and cleaning up the huge collection of our belongings that the firemen rescued from the house.
The horrible Santa Ana winds that have been fueling so many wildfires in our area really started getting strong maybe 20 minutes after the flames were out–another sign of God’s grace. A friend showed up and helped us ward off the aggressive restoration companies that were looking to make us their customers, and our neighbor’s house became our second home to recover and regroup.
There has not been any official report yet, but we are hearing 6 months or longer before the house will be habitable. It is hard to believe the amount of work that happens after a fire, between salvaging belongings, buying clothes for those who left in pijamas and no shoes, dealing with restoration companies, figuring out new living arrangements, and many more stressful details. Our days have been very long. But we are also so very grateful that no one was injured, and thankful for the many people who have stepped in to help. Right now we are in different rooms in an extended stay hotel, but we are praying that the insurance can help us find living arrangements that can be workable, especially for the family members with health challenges. My sister and our twenty-three year old daughter lost most of their possessions due to extensive smoke damage and water damage–at least for now. They could be restored but we will wait to see.
Understanding the providence of God is always a mystery. We seem to have been hit with multiple trials lately. We can’t begin to understand why–but there are comforting truths we cling to. While we were frustrated when the flu stopped us from being able to go to Belize last week, we are exceedingly grateful that we were here for the fire, because we have been able to help our family.
And as I described earlier, the morning of the fire I was in the living room reading my Bible and writing in my prayer journal. I had my Bible, my prayer journal, my planner, and my kindle with me. I don’t know exactly what I was thinking, but I brought my prayer journal, planner and kindle in the little house with me. Almost everything in the living room was destroyed. When the firefighters first brought me in the house, I was looking for all those things. All I saw was my Bible, alone on the floor. I picked it up. Amazingly, it was neither wet nor covered in ashes. There is a fireman footprint on Isaiah 53, but other than that it is in great condition.
A fireman noticed me looking through my Bible and mentioned that it had been saved. It is a Bible that I write notes in, and it would have been sad to lose it. When I found my Bible, I was sure my prayer journal was with it. It is also a very precious item, as I write in it and have my drawings in it. I was pleased to see it later on, completely safe, in the little house. Although my sister lost most of her possessions at least for now, she had been staying in a hotel to keep away from the flu germs in our house, so she had her basic toiletries and clothes with her. AnnaGrace didn’t even have her shoes, but the firemen were able to rescue her laptop, phone, and a few other important items.
And while we are thankful and grateful for all the bad that didn’t happen that morning, we are most thankful for our sovereign Lord who holds all things in His hands. In my morning devotions, I was in Psalm 89. I had been spending several days meditating on verse 9 where it says, “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.” In God’s providence, my devotional (The Practice of the Presence of Jesus: Daily Meditations on the Nearness of Our Savior by Joni Earickson Tada) was about the story of Jesus calming the waves (Mark 4:35-41).
She quotes Brother Lawrence:
“But those who have the gale of the Holy Spirit, go forward even in sleep. If the vessel of our soul is still tossed with winds and storms, let us awake the LORD, Who reposes in it, and He will quickly calm the sea.”
Joni goes on to describe times in which she, like the disciples in the story, are wondering why Jesus was taking so long to help them out. She goes on to remind us that Jesus is in our boat, even if He doesn’t immediately seem like He is rescuing us. He is the one who can calm the storm. We don’t understand all that goes on, but we know the One who is the boat with us.