So, our home caught fire...

It happened the evening of March 28th, 2023.

Well, actually, it happened earlier in the day while I was watching a couple of my granddaughters and prepping our Air BnB space for guests arriving that evening. I just didn't know that it was up there smoldering for hours.

But isn't that how life often happens, it's decisions we make earlier, that change the direction of our life -- and begin to "smolder" even if we are unaware of how much of a change they will bring about ~ for good or bad. We think it's something simple, like, "hey, the granddaughters asked for a fire...it's cool outside, so, sure, let's build a fire," never knowing the life-changing consequences in that one little decision.

But, the grandkids did ask for a fire. And I started one. We enjoyed the fire that morning. Since it was a pressed-wood fire log, it was out within three hours.

We never had smoke in the home. The alarms didn't go off. But I did have a funny feeling. My husband called on his way home from work. I told him that I was uneasy. "Could we possible have an attic fire?"

"Is there smoke?"

"No."

"Anything that would make you think there's a fire up there?"

" Just a weird feeling."

He got home. We had dinner. Grandkids went home. We sat down to watch "Chicago Fire," (I know, how ironic, huh?!). Then my husband jumps up and goes running to the attic access. He heard something.

Within moments we had the home cleared of people (and my camera equipment, computer, and our Bibles). A couple hours later the fire was out (5 trucks arrived. It was the big event that evening in our little community), and the back of our home destroyed.

We entered and felt our hearts clench. The ceiling was falling. Some walls gone. The fireplace half ripped up. All carpets, mattresses, family room furniture, and the upstairs HVAC system all destroyed either by fire, or the toxic concoction of water, smoke, burning insulation, drywall, wood and more, plus the bad-for-you-lungs fire retardant chemicals used to help put out the fire.

Walking through what only a day before I had walked to take video that I shared on Insta saying much I loved our home, was now a walk through a sludgy mess of soggy insulation and burned debris.

It is a little bit of an out-of-body experience. Surreal. This doesn't happen

to us (but it does). I remember thinking the same thing 11 years ago when a E-4 tornado destroyed our little town and we lived in what looked like a war zone for the next year.

Bad things happen. Little decisions can alter the course of your life. And life is too short to put things off.

Is there a dream, a passion, a desire that you've been putting off?

I'm going to leave it here for now...more thoughts on this and how I am moving forward into passions and dreams to come, and you can too!

Blessings,

Lisa

P.S. God is good. Our fire department rocks. And we are blessed. We've been out of our home for 6 weeks, but should be back living in it in a few months.

Also, we found out that the strong winds we'd been having had pulled our flue apart. That's what allowed the fire to get into the attic space. Who knew??!