I am so overwhelmed with emotions this morning. Last night my husband and I watched as our neighbor’s house burned to the ground. The only thing left standing this morning was a shell of a house and we watched as our neighbor sifted through the rubbage and stood in shock looking at the devastation.

We were awakened this morning to the sound of our doorbell ringing frantically and sirens wailing in the background. One of our neighbors was trying to wake us up to tell us the house diagonally behind us, across the alley, was on fire. Very few have experienced the terror, confusion, chaos and panic that accompanies the thought of your house catching fire. My husband and I rushed outside to see where the fire was and what we needed to do. Fortunately we keep our hoses hooked up so we began spraying our roof and trees as the sparks and ashes were being swept our way by the wind. Praise God there was very little wind, just a slight breeze. The firetrucks arrived and began covering the neighboring houses with water as they fought to control the fire. Hot flames (that we could feel in our backyard) were shooting 10 to 20 feet high.

All I could do was pray and cry. I prayed for the family living there that they were all safe and out of the house. I prayed for the firemen that they would be protected while fighting the flames. I prayed for our other neighbors that their houses would not catch on fire. I asked God to help control the fire. And I cried. Don’t ask me why, but I cried.

When my husband and I woke up this morning we thought we had just experienced a bad dream, but looking out across our back yard, the blackened timbers and bricks was a very real reminder that we had been spared.

Psalms 103:1 “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me, Bless His holy name.”