Recently I came across this section in the book Choices by Mary Farrar; it spoke to me. I realize that it is quite lengthy so if you have time to read it, great, if not, skip it:
A generous stranger walked up to the kids shortly before we left and just handed them 15 ride tickets - so they were each able to climb aboard one ride - an unexpected dream come true for them.
One cold night in Epworth, England, the church bell began to ring.
Awakened from their sleep, the townspeople ran out into the night. To their dismay, the sky was illuminated by a house engulfed in flames - the house of a well-loved family in their town.
A crowd gathered to fight the fire, working desperately, feverishly. But it was too late. The house had become an unquenchable inferno.
Samuel and Susanna had escaped the flames, along with six of their children. But soon it was discovered that one child was missing. No one could find Johnny. Realizing the worst, Samuel headed toward the blaze, only to be held back from certain death by the townspeople. The loss of a child is a terrible tragedy, but the loss of both father and child? It would have been too much to bear.
And so in silent torture, they all stood by. Helpless. Watching the fire wrap searing arms around this family's most valued possession - a little child. Not a woman among us has difficulty imagining what must have been going through Susanna's mind. Forget the house. Forget everything in the house. A child's pain is a mother's agony. His death is her most profound grief.
Then someone in the crowd shouted, "Look!"
A little face had appeared in an upstairs window. Johnny had awakened and, unable to escape through the flames, had made his way to the window. In an instant, two men ran toward the house. One climbed upon the shoulders of the other as they stretched and distended their bodies to form a human ladder up to the child. The heat was so intense their clothes began to smoke. But within moments the child was pulled through, brought to safety on the arms of a living ladder.
The little guy who was saved that night was none other than John Wesley, the man God used to shake the world in the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century. Years later Wesley wrote, "That night I was plucked as a brand from the burning."
Why do I tell this story? I tell it because it is a vivid picture of our culture, a culture which has become a towering inferno. The difference is that in this great inferno we do not find a house being destroyed, but a home. And it is not one home, but countless homes - invisible human edifices where marriages, families, and children thrive. Homes, built on the foundations of relationships, values, and matters of the heart.
True to the nature of a fire, this inferno has shown itself to be no respecter of persons. It has hit young and old, conservative and liberal, wealthy and poor, famous and infamous. It has penetrated the doors of the church, spreading through its pews and into its pulpits. In so doing, it has discredited the integrity of the Christian faith and attacked its very foundation.
Some of you are in the midst of fighting for your own home even as you read. You are fighting for your marriage, for your children. Perhaps the battle seems hopeless, the blaze beyond your ability to vanquish.
Others of you are picking up the pieces from the ashes and rubble of what was once your home. You are fighting for your future and the future of your children, trying desperately to make things work in the wake of tragedy.
Still others of you are fighting to save the homes around you. You are waging the battle in your neighborhoods, local churches, and communities. Your home may be intact now, but you know we are all vulnerable. You sense that the momentum is against us, that everything in our culture is set against committed, healthy marriages, and emotionally, spiritually, and morally healthy children.
Very simply, we are all in the midst of the fight of our lives.
In a very real sense, my children are inside this towering inferno. My children are standing at the window, peering out. What's more, so are yours. It is our children's lives, as well as the lives of their children that hang in the balance. They are the little "brands" in desperate need of being plucked from the burning.
In the end, God alone can save a nation. But here's the clincher. When God chooses to work in a nation, He always does it through the individual choices of people. People like you and me.
It was the sovereign plan of God that Wesley should be saved. And it was His sovereign plan to bring revival to England. But how did He do it? He used two tangible, bold, clear-thinking people to accomplish His great plan. Two people who saw the crisis, understood what had to be done, and acted with little regard for themselves.
I don't think we can expect it to be any different this time around, do you? If the little Wesleys in our homes today are to survive this inferno, it will take another human ladder. A ladder of tangible, bold, clear-thinking men and women - people who see the crisis, understand what has to be done, and are willing to step out and do what is right.
It all comes down to our choices... Each one choosing to step out and trust God.
What if you have already made mistakes in your choices? Join the club. We're all members! And take heart in this: No matter where you are in life or what mistakes you have already made, it is never too late. God can still use your good choices - today, tomorrow, next week - and make a difference in your world."
Progress Report on the Rebuilding
On Tuesday the floor joists were put in place for the 3rd story.
Above: Roger hard at work
Kenton test the new upstairs "catwalk."
Kenton and Mr. Carl in the entryway with the "catwalk" above them.
The building of the temporary stairs begins.
Work on the garage roof progresses.
The Matanuska Susitna Valley is home to some of the world's largest produce. This pumpkin weighed the most this year at 1,101 lbs taking the new Alaska state record.
The cabbage above weighed in at 93.9 lbs.
Wynn's sauerkraut fudge layer cake was entered erroneously by the ladies in charge as Psalm's French coconut pie. The judge's comments read, "Is this really a pie? I don't taste any coconut." I think we might need to ask a more appropriate question, "Is this really a clear-thinking judge?"
Psalm's French coconut pie was also incorrectly labeled with Wynn's information in the Chocolate Layer cake category. The important question here is, "How does a coconut pie take a 1st prize in the chocolate cake group?"
As we wandered around enjoying the fair, Seth faithfully and diligently studied at home. This exhibit in the reptile room made us think of how Seth was feeling while he labored alone at his challenging college classwork.
A generous stranger walked up to the kids shortly before we left and just handed them 15 ride tickets - so they were each able to climb aboard one ride - an unexpected dream come true for them.
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