My family received many life changing messages of hope, trust and faith before and after we experienced a house fire this past August. Through several unique encounters, we were encouraged to depend on God. Now I am thankful, grateful and blessed to testify about trusting Him through the fire.

Last July, a friend and I discussed Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Not long after that I saw “PRVE3:5”on a license plate. And right after seeing it, I drove to a Chesapeake department store, walked in, and saw several signs, pictures and books displaying variations of the same verse.

My family received more inspiration to trust when we baked cupcakes one evening. My daughter quickly pointed out how one of our tasty creations looked just like an angel standing with outstretched wings! Even though we had received significant encouragement up until then, we didn’t anticipate what would occur a few weeks later.

On Aug. 15, at 11:19 p.m., I called 911 to report a blaze that started in my attached garage. Suffolk Fire and Rescue arrived within five minutes. Although our two cats didn’t survive, the remainder of my family escaped safely.

While sorting belongings, we discovered what appeared to be the imprint of a large, smiling face on the cover of an electronic device that survived the flames. The image was created from blackened soot outlining items that were inadvertently left on top of the device prior to the fire. I was in awe of how a simple yet familiar image could evoke so much hope.

About two weeks later, my second oldest son embedded a smiley face into a pancake he made for breakfast. And on a different day, I rejoiced after seeing someone had drawn another smiling face on the rear door of a moving and storage truck that merged in front of me on the highway.

More inspiration came when a friend hosted a blessing party at our temporary residence. We were honored when family and friends came to fellowship, pray and support us in meaningful ways. And although my kids have missed their pets, God has blessed them to enjoy two gentle, neighborhood cats that show up at our front door to be rubbed almost daily.

My husband expressed gratitude to our community, friends and family by saying, “…This has been a very humbling experience because I didn’t like to ask for help. Again, I want to say, ‘Thank you’, for sharing your resources because you don’t realize how much weight you’re carrying until somebody comes and helps you.”

We’re learning to trust in the Lord with all our hearts instead of relying on our own understanding. As we seek His will in everything we do, He promised to direct our paths through the fire.

 

Tonya Swindell writes a blog for www.inspirenewlife.org and a teacher for Kingdom Building Equipping School (KBES.com). She can be reached at 1brightot@gmail.com.