The first comment I remember our then nine-year-old daughter making after the fire was, “Well, we’re not supposed to store up treasures on earth.” Exactly. And while the fire was surely a trial, we lost no eternal treasures that day. We had lost nearly everything, but we had God’s Word, and that is everything. Without thinking, Kirby did what we all should do in the face of trials – think about the truth of God’s Word.

It was an unusually warm winter day, and I had taken the day off. My plan was to engage in some needed inside activity. Then I saw the weather report. 50 degrees? On a December day? Since it had been a pretty busy fall, we hadn’t finished the leaf blowing, and the flower beds and the driveway were still littered with remnants of the several large trees which surround our home. I changed plans and decided to tend to this important outdoor work before the winter snows arrived and we were shoveling leaf-filled snow.

I donned my work clothes and headed for the garage. I wasn’t sure where my work boots were, but I quickly saw my husband Mark’s boots and decided to wear his. (Just so you know, he has pretty small feet so this wasn’t a big deal.) I laughed to myself as I slipped them on, for he used to keep these boots out in our “barn,” a detached second garage that we own. The boots are now in the house garage in order to keep the mice out of them, but I heeded his counsel to take a moment and turn them upside down – just to make sure!

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