(January 1948: Lincoln County, West Virginia)
The passing of four years and some months happened in the blink of an eye. The loving presence of our family and unwavering faith in the Lord provided so much strength through a period of unimaginable grief. Life back on the farm introduced us to the love of new faces. One of Frank’s great adventures led him to bring home a whole slew of dogs one afternoon: Newfoundlands Otis and Maizey, Basset Hound Libby, Minnie the mutt, and Ody a precious black labrador. At first, I wasn’t sure how we would care for them, but they immediately stole my heart.
I loved watching Gordon have a chance to make his own farm life memories; he was always playing Cowboys and Indians with his cousins and enjoying the beautiful seasons that surrounded us; the sweet reminder that time is precious. The smell of mama’s tomato hamburger soup always brings a smile to his face. It is his favorite meal. Finding joy in those small blessings was still important to our family.
. As we were finishing dinner at mama’s one afternoon, we could see flames consuming the walls of our home. Our feet never touched the ground as we ran down the road in hopes of putting out the fire and salvaging whatever we could. The smoke was thick like fog traveling through the air and the scent grew stronger as we got closer. It nearly stole our breath. I let out a piercing scream of anguish as the fire burned away precious memories far into the night. Frank took off looking for the dogs who had vanished. We lost almost everything we owned. The next morning I felt blessed to find a few items, including pictures and the Bible I received when I got saved.
Frank kept on looking for the dogs but they were nowhere in sight. He took a moment to sit by himself and reflect, crying out to the Lord through prayer:
“We have been through so much. Lord, I just don’t get it,” he cried out, arms raised to the sky. “ Why do things like this keep happening? Ain’t we gone through enough?” He continued the prayer, filling the silence of a devastating moment.
“It is somethin’ that all our important stuff made it out”, he said through tears. “My heart believes only You could’ve been watchin’ over us.” He stood up and straightened his shirt. “I’m also thankful that we are all safe,” he said, thinking of his precious family. “Things could have been a lot worse, but how much more can one family go through?” he said, finishing his prayer. “I trust that You will pull us through somehow. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.”
Two days passed before I was able to head back to work at the dress shop. I took Gordon with me as I wanted to tell Donna that we needed a little time to get back on our feet. Little did I know how fast news travels within such a short amount of time. As we walked through the door of the shop, a flock of concerned customers surrounded us. They had become some of my dearest friends.
“We wanted to tell ya how sorry we were to hear about the fire,” Donna said, enveloping us both in a hug, “You mean so much to us. The customers just love you. She motioned towards several bags full of clothing of all sizes. “People have been dropping things off all day long, and some of them we’re not sure where they came from!”
My smile widened as I glanced over at the pile of bags. It was a true blessing.
“I don’t know what to say. Thank y’all so much,” I managed as my eyes were filling up with tears. “This is so great! Frank won’t believe this!” I hugged Donna one last time before heading back to mama’s where we stayed for a while.
As I walked through the front door all I could do was smile as Gordon and I carried the bags inside. “Look what I got at the shop today!” I said excitedly. “Donna said customers left these bags for us!” Frank wore a look of surprise.
“What in the world?” He began to rummage through the bags and a smile crept upon his face. “Well, ain’t that somethin’?” he continued pulling clothes out of the bag as mama walked into the room.
“That’s quite a load you got there,” mama said, looking around the room in amazement. As Frank and I looked at each other, we knew that the Lord had a hand in that day. We knew that He had used this time to give us another example of boundless love while easing the sorrow in our hearts through the unexpected kindness and unwavering support of those around us.
In the midst of all our raging seas, the Lord remained as our fortress and mighty deliverer. He was that constant source of refuge through our trials and tribulations. We would always stand strong and choose to cling to our faith; forever grabbing onto the fierce buckler our weary souls needed. Our fervent reliance upon His Word worked to pull us through the fire, helping each one of us to wear the identity of the overcomer. An identity of continued strength that would keep us going on our great adventures.
“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” (Psalm 18:2)
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