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The fire took it all.

It started in one shed and quickly jumped to the one beside it. We watched in horror as years’ worth of earthly possessions went up in smoke. Tools. Furniture. Clothes. Antiques. Fall and Christmas decorations. And so much more.

A large portion of our backyard was left in black, sooty ruins. The next day we began picking through the rubble, hoping to find something salvageable. The only thing we found intact was a Bible, barely even singed.

For many days afterward, we lived with the devastation—a constant reminder of what had taken place. It was hard to look at the mess without tears, thinking of what we had lost and wondering if our backyard would ever return to normal.

The clean-up crew came. They loaded up the debris and hauled it away. Then another crew came and cut down over a dozen burned trees. They also ground the stumps. Once again, the debris was loaded up and taken away, leaving the ground smooth and free of any signs of that dreadful fire. With two new sheds in place, it now looks even better than before, as though the fire never happened.

That’s what happens when God forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He removes all the clutter and debris from our heart and tosses it into the sea of forgetfulness. He washes us, as the Bible says, “white as snow.” He gives us beauty instead of ashes. He turns our mourning into joy and clothes us with a garment of praise. He makes all things new.

That Bible survived a terrible fire when nothing else did. The Word of the living God. Alive and sharper than a two-edged sword. Powerful and eternal. It proved to be a constant reminder of how blessed we were—blessed that no one was hurt and that the fire did not come near our home, the woods behind our home, our chickens, or our motorhome (parked beside the second shed). Things could have turned out so much worse, but God was faithful and merciful.

When life comes at you, leaving a mess in its wake, don’t lose hope. You can always count on God and His Word to remove the debris and make things even better than before.

(photo courtesy of author)