“We weren’t home..”
“We’re okay, but the house is gone.” Words forever in my heart.
I sat in the basement of my friends’ house with our total of 7 kids and my husband. We weren’t supposed to be there. My children and their closest friends had spent the day at our house having nerf wars outside (In December), baking bread, feeding the animals and all the things that come with farm life. They were set to stay the next 3 days while our friends were on an anniversary trip. I was enjoying the laughter from the hallways, muddy boots, all the things. Friday night, last minute, I decided to follow the plea of my close friend, and go sleep in their basement. The weather was supposedly going to be stormy that night (Kentucky weather) and just in case the storms were severe, knowing her children were sleeping in a basement eased her momma heart.
The Lord had gone before us. He made it possible 2 months prior for us to not be in our home that night. Chris’ last minute decision to come stay with us, left him leaving home just a couple hours before everything would end up gone.
We sat in a borrowed basement with all 7 children, as Chris and I watched the storm pass over our home and neighbors on the radar. Many times in the past, out of concern and love, I would text neighbors and family just to be sure that everything is alright, always expecting, “we’re good.” I sent that same text that night, to my lifelong friend who was now my neighbor. The response is not what I expected.
“We’re okay, but the house is gone.”
What does that mean?
We would later laugh that she needed to work on her texting skills. Little did we know that in that moment, everything was quite literally.. gone. The couch that my husband contemplated sleeping on as the storms passed, just 2 hours earlier, was buried under rubble and brick. The house, barn and buildings, completely swept away.
Over the next few days, we would hear story after story from people who showed up at our house during the night, thankful to not find us in the rubble.
We weren’t home. It was a miracle. The only house on our street without a basement, full of children, 4 of which weren’t my own. There was no safe space left standing in our home. The devastation was beyond what I ever thought possible. You can’t contemplate the ‘what if’, it’s too much to stomach. The reality was that we were all alive. My neighbors and friends were alive. The miracle is LIFE. The miracle is the love that came after the devastation.
Have you ever felt like you’re walking in a dream? That’s the easiest way to describe it all. A fog, a dream, something you’re going to wake up from at any moment. It seems very surreal. But I am confident that nothing is wasted, no heart ache, no loss, no mistake or failure. The Lord works it all for good. I’ve experienced this over and over in life, and I know that this is no exception. We have already witnessed over and over, countless times, the good that’s coming from the rubble. The Lord works all things together for good, for those who love Him. We love Him and for that we are confident in His ways, in His provision and protection.
His Joy comes in the morning. On our way to worship December 12, 2021. How could we not?
We feel Him very near.
We feel His Peace.
We see His provision.
We will Rebuild.
We will worship.
How can we not?
I plan to blog our progress to rebuild our little homestead. We want to look back and testify to the goodness of God in every step of the journey. He is a God of restoration, in our hearts and in the physical.
“I see you, Jesus!” I pray we don’t miss a moment.
Maybe you’re in a Job season. A season of hurt and pain, uncertainty. Know that the God of all Hope & of all Peace rests in your spirit. Surrounds you in times you feel you can’t breathe. Holds you close. He stoops down low and carries all your hurts.
Acquaint now yourself with Him and be at peace; by THAT you shall prosper and great good shall come to you. Job 22:21
Acquaint yourself with Him.
On the other side you shall come forth as Refined Gold-pure and luminous. Job 23:10
