I don't believe in fate or luck; I believe in consequence and celestial favor. There is a blessing in everything, we just have to look for it. Sometimes the blessing can be extremely hard to see, but it is there.
At six years old, I couldn't comprehend a blessing coming from our house burning down on Christmas Eve, but as I became an adult and the years of reflecting on that Christmas rolled by again and again, I could see it. Boy, could I see it! And not in the way you might think.
The house was an old, dilapidated, wooden monstrosity that looked like a good stiff wind would blow it right over. I hated that house, because it was there that my abuse began. (The House of Hell would be a suitable title.) My brother and I avoided being inside as much as possible - well, as much as it was possible for a five and six-year-old, but those were different times.
On Christmas Eve, we were sent to bed early, and we were excited to go, because for a change, we were actually going to get presents that year.
Sometime later, I awakened in the arms of a fireman as he carried me through the smoke-filled, burning house and placed me on the lawn beside my family. And there we sat, watching it burn.
Now for the blessing.
We lost everything. The Salvation Army replaced our clothing and gave us some toys, and we were placed in the government housing project, Greer Town, one of the worst in Charlotte, North Carolina. Did my home-life change after that? No. In fact, things even got worse. However . . . my hatred of the old house takes us back to the blessing.
In that home was where the pain began. In that solitary home surrounded by an expansive grassy field, was where evil began and ran rampant. The old place represented evil in its purest form. And because of the fire, no one would ever be hurt there again. No child would ever be abused, and no mother would ever be beaten again within those walls. Yes, it would go on within other walls just as it does today, but at least that den no longer stood.
The memory of that blessing renews my joy and strengthens my faith in the Lord's future judgements. With the Savior's birth, life, atoning sacrifice, death, and resurrection, comes the surety that one day soon, all will be made right, and I am sure He has many millstones reserved for those who harm His little ones even today.
God's blessings are there in everything we experience, whether it is a consequence, a celestial favor, or a trial for our spiritual refinement. He knows what we need, and He knows what is best for us.
What little I lost in that fire has since been given back to me a million times over. And even back then, the Father cared about me more than I could have ever known. How do I know?
Because He brought me through the fire.
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