You may have not heard that our home burnt to the ground, due to a wildfire, on Labor Day, Sept. 7th. This is my fire story.
Labor Day will be permanently etched in my mind as the most frightful event I have ever experienced. Although we got a few things out, the fire moved so fast and so hot we had to leave behind most of our belongings — including our two cats.
But this is not about our loss, it is what I learned in the past several days.
People are loving and caring beings who can come together when tragedy strikes one of their own.
We hear so much about the negative side of people: What they do and what they say!
I am sharing the other side of the story:
When we lost our home, my elderly mother offered to let us spend the night in her spare bedroom the first night. From there, we washed all the clothes that we packed (smoked filled) while we regrouped.
The Red Cross put us up in the Red Lion for six nights. During this time, they made sure we had three meals a day, access to health care and moral support if we needed it. These folks contacted us daily through onsite visits or phone calls. When we checked out of the Red Lion, they met us the next days with a gift card and a list of resources to further help us.
In the meantime, we received numerous phone calls from organizations such as the county Sheriff’s Department, the local Nazarene Church, the local FISH store (a small version of Goodwill), along with other churches and organizations. These kind folks offered us free food, clothing and money.
Our daughters got together and started a GoFundMe page where family, friends, acquaintances and strangers donated more money than we could ever imagine receiving! All the folks that reached out to us in our time of need were phenomenal!
Numerous friends and workers from our church organization, Centers for Spritual Living, contacted us regularly to offer prayer and support!
And the list goes on …
Never in my life have I felt so loved.
So next time you or someone else wants to tell you how bad and nasty people are, please share my story. Tragedy has taught me there are plenty of loving and caring folks in the world.