What a day!
That’s what I wrote in my journal last night. It’s a phrase that I often use at the end of a particularly hectic day, but yesterday it was more than appropriate (as you can tell by the title of this post).
Where do I even start?
First the puppy part. As you probably know, in January our dog Carl died. It was hard for us to lose a part of the family, but we also lost our guard dog out at the Villa. So we started praying for “Carl Jr”. Well, I found him!
By complete chance (and the hand of God), I was passing by the house of a friend’s mother-in-law at the same time that a neighbor was visiting her…a neighbor with a weimaraner puppy that looked like a mini-Carl! Of course I jumped out of the car to ask her where she bought the dog. It turned out that she was selling the puppy that was with her. So I got her number, we called the next night, and BAM…we have a new puppy!
Yesterday I went with the girls to pick him up. That was a huge excitement. As we drove back to the Villa (me driving, Sara in front with the dog, and all the girls in the bed of the pickup truck), we realized that we were in for some excitement with our new pup. He barked and licked and romped around the car until we reached the entrance to the Villa. Then he decided to sleep (go figure).
As Maria (the gatekeeper) opened the door, she exclaimed “Yay, a new puppy! You’re house is on fire.” Not necessarily two sentences that I would ever string together. And what a shock it gave us!
What house? Our house? The Villa? Is on fire? I knew that Hae Young and the boys had arrived before us, and since I hadn’t received a phone call, I prayed that it was not as serious as Maria had said. Regardless, I hit the gas and we started up the mountain to see that damage.
As we neared the top, we could see the flames. The girls in the back (who hadn’t heard the news from Maria) started banging on the windows, screaming that there was fire. I’m sure it was a shock for them. All I could see were a lot of flames, very close to the apartments. We said a quick prayer and continued on to the house.
Ok, you can breathe a sigh of relieve, the house was spared. The fire burned a big chunk of land near the house and apartments but didn’t touch either of the buildings. Nor did it get to our water tank or any of the gardens. The only thing that was damaged was a tube that carries water from the tank to the apartments (but that was replaced early this morning).
As you can see from the pictures, the fire came very close to our house…too close. But the miracle is that it stopped before it hit the house. There is almost a complete circle around the house where the land is burnt and yet NOTHING crossed over. God completely protected His house and His children.
As a child, I was terrified of fire. It was one of my biggest fears that my house would start on fire and that I would lose everything I had. And yet, as I heard the news from Maria, I felt a complete calm wash over me. Even though she was telling me that my house was on fire, I KNEW that God would protect us and that everything would work out for His good. My childhood fears came to pass and I survived. I don’t have to fear the fires anymore because I can trust that God will protect those who serve Him.
Isaiah says it well “though you may pass through the fires, you will not get burned…”
God performs miracles every day, and I am so thankful that I get to see them so frequently. While I would never wish to relieve this, I am grateful for the experience to meet my fears head on and CONQUER them. We are victorious with Christ!
So after all the excitement, we settled down with our new puppy…who the kids decided to name Brownie. Their reasoning: “everyone loves brownies”! It’s true, and it looks like this dog loves us back. As I write this, he is sleeping at my feet, tired from playing with the kids during recess!
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