An Unfortunate Reminder

Yesterday morning started out like every other Sunday - get up, rush around and get ready for church. Went to church and then home for lunch and Creed's nap. It was SO nice outside yesterday we took the kids out and let them play while we did some work outside. We had been outside for about a half hour when Chris and I got up in the loft of our shed to find some things. Soon we started to hear all sorts of sirens. Not a huge deal, but normally we don't here them that loud. I said something to Chris about it and soon we heard Kady saying - "Mommy, look at the black smoke!" While I am up in the loft I hear an explosion and all I can think of is getting down! Needless to say - there was fire about a block away from our home. The amount of smoke and fumes filling the air was actually so dense that we made the kids go inside for a little while. As Chris and I stood on the deck watching people scurry about, we both realized just how grateful we forget to be sometimes. That day as strangers carried these people's most treasured possessions from a burning home to a neighbor's safe garage, my treasures were safely tucked away inside my home. On our way to church last night, we drove past the home that had been involved in the fire. (A camper trailer that was parked in the driveway out front caught on fire and then exploded, causing the house to also catch on fire.) As we drove by, the family and their friends were still standing outside, hours later, looking at the house. You could see the shock on their face as they were staring at what once was their perfect home. Now, it was little more than a charred reminder to the rest of us of how fortunate we are to be sleeping in our own bed tonight, under our own roof, with everyone sleeping soundly. Just a simple reminder that we need to be grateful everyday for the "simple" things in life.