I sat and watched the night sky like a giant canvas lit by an orange glow. Smoke billowed high above me until I could feel the heat from what would be the remnant of my childhood home. Everything I knew burned in that house that day along with my past. I remember looking at my dad who was well into his nineties, grateful he was safe with us. He was in the house when the fire started, but we had gotten him out. I stood in complete disbelief, wondering what to do. My whole life turned upside down in an instant. I thought to myself and realized “I have nothing.”

It was my hope to recover some of my things, but there was another separate fire in what was left of the house some months later. I was able to recover a few small precious treasures. Dad passed away two years later. Many people came to my aid, some I knew, some I didn’t. God was looking after me and I was thankful that there were who people who cared and it didn’t matter if they knew me or not!