love in action

Every so often things happen to remind me of what is important in life. I'm not saying that they happen for my benefit, but I do hope that I can see that in the midst of darkness, there are glimpses of light.

Yesterday my younger sister's house burnt to the ground. Even after standing by the remains of the house for a few hours and seeing it, it remains surreal. And it's not even my own personal loss. The light in this? The family were not home. Their young boys, my nephews, do not have the image of their home burning etched on their minds. They were not asleep in their beds at the time. Very little was salvaged from the house but what did come out (albeit slightly smoky-smelling and darkened) were items of sentimental value that no amount of insurance money could have replaced.

And the love in action? They are staying with us, for as long as they need to. Our small house is feeling smaller but that's ok. We have been inundated with countless offers for help, with boxes of clothes for all four of the family, with more food than my fridge can hold. Toothbrushes and toys and videos and books appeared. People have offered to watch both their kids and ours so that we are free to do whatever needs doing. All of this from our church family, some of whom were at the house to give the only help we could give, hugs and a listening ear. People from the church have offered housing, anything they can to help out. I would never wish this to happen but to see our church family spring into action like they have is truly heartwarming. Their neighbors on the street, too, have contacted us with more offers to help.

What do you do when all of your material possessions are, simply put, gone?

You focus on what's important.

God is good.