The house was on a beautiful dairy farm and was serenity at its best. There were no street lights, no traffic. The vegetable garden was bountiful, the milk fresh each day, and “Mamaw” knew how to cook. There was a clothesline where the laundry was hung. The sheets on the bed after a wash smelled country fresh and is something that I haven’t experienced since I was a little girl. “Papaw” tried his best to teach me how to drive a tractor, which was great fun. As a game, I hit every cow pile in the field causing a really big “stink”. “Mamaw” could hear our laughter all the way to the house. Those memories will forever live in my heart. When the fire destroyed the house, we felt like we had lost a part of our lives. It was like losing those two beautiful people all over again and that pain was great.
My husband and I visited the ruins of the home the next day. It was very painful to see the home that I remembered as a child smoldering in the afternoon sun. The big oak tree in the front yard where we would rake leaves in the fall was scorched from the bottom of its trunk to the very top of its foliage. Thankfully, the tenant was not at home during the fire and that is a miracle in itself for which I am eternally grateful to our Lord. She lost all of her belongings in the fire and I pray for her courage and strength each day as she begins anew.
The Lord told us in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes that there was a time for every event under heaven. We never know what the future may hold, but must call upon our faith to guide us and give us power over hardship. We experience great loss and sadness during our lifetime, but we all must have hope that joy, happiness, and cherished memories will be greater.
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
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