It was the smell of smoke that woke me up. Disoriented, I rubbed my eyes and looked around. There was the distinct sound of crackling. I sat up with a jolt.
Fire—my house
was on fire!
I instinctively grabbed something from under my pillow. In a daze, but with oddly sharpened senses, my wife and I pulled our sleeping children out of their beds and stumbled into the cold night air.
Shivering, we stood and watched as everything we owned was reduced to ashes.
I felt defeat sweep over me. Only then did I look down to see what I’d grabbed from under my pillow.
It was my Bible.
In that moment of
realization, I felt
a flicker of hope.
Our home was gone. But we hadn’t lost everything.
A year ago I would
not have reached
for my Bible.
My faith was something only for Sundays, but it had nothing to do with my life the rest of the week.
Yet in the last year, I found my relationship with Jesus affecting every aspect of my life—from my business to my family.
In the weeks following the fire, I began to see how the fire was a blessing in disguise. In the midst of this loss, I felt God closer than I ever had before.
But more than that, I now know that whatever I go through, God will be with me. Everything that the fire destroyed, God has replaced through the help of friends and even strangers.
JOSEPH
Pottery Artisan in
Randburg, Johannesburg
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