Pain and Promise/2004 From the Ashes

    
     It was January, 2004. An old extension cord connected to a space heater. A sudden fire in our downstairs leading to smoke damage throughout. We would live in a small, older, rented townhouse for 7 months while our house was gutted down to the studs and rebuilt. Our daughters were 15 and 13 and had to share a room for the first time. Here is a devotion I wrote in March of that year. God wants to teach us deep lessons.

     Consumed. Engulfed. Damaged. These words not only describe our home after the fire; they describe life after the fire. These words also describe a life before Christ.
     The inside of our home has been brought down to its basic frame. The smoke seeped in behind the walls and above the ceilings. Every nook and cranny is now exposed and will be cleaned, sealed and finally rebuilt and restored.

     Jesus wants to see the inside of our hearts down to the basic frame. Just as we can now begin to imagine our home becoming something new and transformed, Jesus sees our hearts transformed and imagines what we can be as children of God. Only He can clean and claim every nook and cranny, expose every dark and smoky corner to the light and help us to begin anew.

     He will turn our curse into a blessing because He loves us. Lies into love. Jealousy into joy. Promiscuity into peace. Pity into patience. Gossip into gentleness. Greed into goodness. Faithlessness into faithfulness. Shame into self-control. Bitterness into beauty. Anger into adoration. Destruction into devotion.

     Dare to come out of the smoke and look up into the light. Step around the debris and step on to smooth ground. Move from the place where you are afraid to breathe and take a deep cleansing breath. Remove the soot from your eyes and gaze into His. Disconnect the faulty wiring and connect to the Son. Tear down the damaged walls and let Him rebuild from the inside out.


     It is now 2019. One of the many lessons learned through that time of loss and rebuilding, came in the realization of the fragility of life and the recognition of what is truly valuable. All of our treasured “things” went up in smoke. We do miss some of the sentimental gifts given or made for us, but all of it, every single “thing” was temporary. Our lives are eternal. Some of my life verses are found in 2 Corinthians Chapter 4.  Here is just a part of those verses. They will remind you and me of the temporary vs. the eternal.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:18

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…Matthew 6:20a

     Fix your eyes above today, remembering to value what Jesus does; love, compassion, kindness and hope. He gives us just what we need.

Lord,

Thank You for the tough lessons life can bring. You are above it all. Transform us, lift us up and bring us home.

In Jesus name,

Amen