Baxter and I renovated an old building on Main Street for our office space.We had subcontractors that did work, but Baxter, I, and our children worked on that old building too. We painted…stained…hung insulation…, and carried off construction debris. Our family was invested in that building.

On July 28, 1990, we were at the river with my Dad, my brother Zan and his family. For the first time since my Mom had passed away, we had honestly enjoyed our time at the river. Zan’s little boys had gotten sleepy on the after-dinner pontoon boat ride and gone to bed. The rest of us were laughing and talking when the phone rang.

Our friends from home, Linda and Wayne called with bad news. There had been an explosion in downtown Monroe. A young couple who went to church with us felt the ground shake at the same time they heard an explosion. They ran outside their apartment just in time to see a blue ball of fire lift up from the block our building was on… the buildings were on fire. They called Wayne and Linda to try and find us.

Daddy, Zan, Baxter, and I headed for Monroe. When we got to a hill in the Prospect community about 10 miles from Monroe, we could see an orange sky over the town. No one said a word. By the time we reached town, we got there in time to see the fire go across Bill and Bette Sue Davis’ second floor and go into our second floor.

I think perhaps every fire department in the county and city was there. Shards of glass were impaled into brick and mortar across the street. Windows were broken or cracked all over downtown. They were pouring 1000’s of gallons of water into that fire. It was a chaotic and ominous scene.

The water inside our building got as high as 30 inches. The files in all of the lower file cabinets were soaked. Some files that were out being worked on floated out the front door.

All we could do was stand and watch. It appeared we were losing everything.

The next weeks were filled with investigations, ATF agents, the SBI, and the local police department calling to let us know there would be a press conference and we could get information concerning the investigation. This was not our “normal”.

It turns out a new renter on the block hired a young man to burn the building down. He was trying to collect insurance money. The hired man died in the blast. When he poured gasoline in the basement and lit a match…well with gas heat and water heaters…the explosion was huge. His body was found a couple of days after the fire under the rubble.

Why do I tell this story? To give God glory.

We were so very blessed with family, friends, and clients who offered their resources to get us through…a temporary office at a reduced rate, clients coming up to us on the street and giving Baxter their work, an ATF agent that allowed me to go in with him and get Baxter’s diplomas and licenses…and family pictures. God surrounded us with an army…an army of love and protection.

Of course as when anyone suffers a diaster, there are those who try to take advantage of you. But our God protected us from that too.

It was hard. We had to work all the time especially Baxter. But our Abba God led us through. In March 1991, just months after the fire, we moved into our new building. We were able to build in the same place our old building had stood. It felt miraculous.

We learned for certain that our Abba God never leaves us. He does speak into our ear saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.” And He absolutely takes what was intended to destroy and He made it work for our good.

In the next year, Baxter’s business grew in leaps and bounds. It amazed us. Our children got to see us walk as a family through this loss believing God would care for us and keep us. We got to experience His mercies that are new every morning. We can proclaim His faithfulness. We can say with no doubts that He is good and His love endures forever.

Sometimes these diasters might seem like punishment. I think however, that even in the worst times, our God intends to draw us closer to Him. To love us intimately. To teach with tendernes when we find ourselves in a furnace or a desert.

No value can be placed on what our God taught us during that time. We can look back and be thankful. He is a good and loving Father.

Glory to God.