By Julie Skaggs
Christmas is always a special time. It’s when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and give thanks for His love and faithfulness. For our family, we were especially thankful because our son who serves in the U.S. Marine Corps was home for Christmas. He was getting ready to leave for his duty station in Hawaii, and we knew it would be several months until we would see him again. Also, our daughter would soon begin college and there was an acute awareness in each of us that this Christmas may be the last we share together for quite some time. Our lives were all changing and as a mother, I was struggling with a sense of loss. I knew my role in their lives was changing and I questioned what the future held.
Christmas day came and went and we enjoyed being together with family and friends. In just a few days, we would have to say goodbye to our son as he would leave to begin another chapter in his life. It was late on December 28 and everyone was asleep. I had just finished packing the last of our son’s things in his military bags; it would be only a few hours until we would take him to the airport. I was struggling with the thought of having to say goodbye, knowing that we would be miles and miles apart.
Our son was still out saying goodbye to his friends so I decided to doze on the couch until he came home. After I drifted off to sleep, I was soon awakened with the sensation that someone was choking me. When fully awake I realized our house was completely filled with smoke! I immediately awakened my husband. As he opened the door to our downstairs, he was met with flames and heat. I could not believe what was happening!
We ran to our daughter’s room to help her get out of the house. Once outside, I remembered our son’s military bags that were by the door downstairs. As my husband ran to the neighbor’s house for help, I ran around the outside of our house to see if I could get my son’s military bags. The basement was already engulfed in smoke and flames. As I opened the door, there sat our son’s bags untouched. I quickly pulled them from the burning building, but the intense smoke and flames kept us from saving anything else.
I cannot explain all the emotions that consumed me as I stood and watched our home of 20 years burn. I will never forget the look on my son’s face when he arrived home to see our family home consumed by fire. As the fire department worked to put out the blaze, the time came for our son to leave for the airport. With tears in his eyes, he asked me what he should do. He didn’t want to leave. I remember him making the statement, “I can’t leave not knowing if you are going to be OK.”
The Word of God tells us of a “peace that surpasses all understanding.” I know that it was the presence of my heavenly Father that held and comforted us that night. It was His strength that enabled us to say good-bye to our son and to our home in the same evening. It was His peace that gave us the reassurance that all would be OK.
All our worldly possessions were gone. Our comfort and security was taken away. All we had left was God—and we found that He was more than enough! God’s provision and faithfulness has overwhelmed us. Since that unforgettable night, He has blessed us not only with a new house and furnishings, but also with a family vacation to Hawaii to visit our son. More than anything else, we have been reminded that no matter what circumstances we may face, God goes before us waiting to show Himself strong. GOD IS FAITHFUL!!
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