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Topic: Rejoicing (11/22/04)
TITLE: Round & Round By KAREN FASIG 11/23/04 |
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Hey guys, don’t go anywhere, this round metal rod charged with electricity had to be one of the best things to happen to you too. No more turning over in bed to have a roller poke you in the eye or stab you in the back as you laid on it. Bobby pins that not only jab you in the arm as you try to hug your wife, but penetrate the bottom of your foot as you walk across the kitchen floor are a thing of the past. How many blessing do you need before you start rejoicing from the rooftops?
The benefit to the human race that this modern day wonder has brought can’t be calculated. Unfortunately, this extraordinary instrument can cause lamenting as well as rejoicing. A few years ago I received a harried phone call, “Karen, you need to get home immediately. Heather’s house is on fire!”
Needless to say I left work and headed straight to my daughter’s home. Fire trucks blocked the street and smoke billowed from the windows of her home. The family dog lay dead from smoke inhalation in the front yard and my Heather came sobbing into my arms. “Mom, I can’t believe it. I couldn’t have been gone more than 45 minutes. The kids had a doctor’s appointment. The Fire Marshall says there isn’t anything that can be saved. What are we going to do?”
Comfort and love are the only things I could offer her at this early stage of the devastation. I took her in my arms and we cried together. One of the firemen finally came over and said we could go into the house. What our eyes beheld can’t be adequately described. Black as evil is the only thing that comes close to describing the scene that greeted us.
Charred wood, peeling paint, melted metal banks, broken windows; all assailed our senses. The bathroom seemed to have suffered the greatest damage and we soon learned why. In Heather’s haste to get the kids to the doctor she’d forgotten to unplug the curling iron. It had slid against a plastic cup, melted it and then the cup had burst into flames igniting the bathroom curtains and then exploding a waiting can of hair spray.
The fire lapped its way through the doorway and into my grandson Eric’s bedroom destroying everything in sight. Black soot replaced the wallpaper. You could follow the fire’s path along the wall and down onto the dresser, then back onto the curtains. It continued to snake along the ceiling line and then travel down the next wall.
The ruin filled our minds and fresh tears ran down our soot-covered cheeks. Our eyes continued to scan the room. I glanced over at Heather and thought I saw a smile begin to tweak at the corner of her lips. She pointed toward the wall as she said, “Look. Will you just look at that.”
When I focused on the area, rejoicing did fill my soul. There on the wall hung the prayer I’d written for my grandson Eric’s dedication. It hung there in its charred frame, with black soot covering everything around it, but the glass over that prayer remained clear for all to read. A sign to us that God’s protecting hand had been upon our family.
Our Father in heaven is there protecting us in every situation of life. He also brought about a happy ending as the things of this life were replaced and love from the community poured forth. God uses everything for good for those that love him.
He also gave me a special gift. You see, when I use my curling iron, I have rejoicing in my heart for the loving God who made sure my family wasn’t in that house when the fire started.