Читать книгу Mustard Seeds - Melissa Levi - Страница 32

He Prepares a Home for Us

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

John 14:3

About 4 months ago, I was awakened by the frenzied barking of Emma. She was racing around the house from my bed to the living room back and forth over and over again.

Finally, I got up and stomped to the living room where Emma was perched on the back of the chair, her muzzle pushed through the blinds. As I reached for her neck, there was a sudden boom and the roof of the house down the street erupted in flames.

I grabbed my bathrobe and shoes and ran out the door. As I grabbed up blankets my heart raced I was scared for the family in the house. I wasn’t the only one awakened. People began to come out of their houses. The mother of the house screamed for her daughter and her husband who were still inside.

Her sons stood behind her mesmerized by the yellow licks of flame that reached into the darkness. Finally, the father emerged with the blonde girl in his arms. They were sooty, scared, but alive.

The police showed up then, three cars squealing down our street, lights flickering. The officers jumped out and asked was anyone else inside. Thankfully, no was the answer.

It seemed like a lifetime before the distant sounds of the fire trucks and ambulances were heard. As we waited the flames hungrily devoured the house and smoke black as the dark skies behind it billowed out of the windows. Glass broke, and the house moaned as it was eaten alive by the fire. It was like watching a death. While the neighborhood stood in little pods around the scene, the family stood in a tight formation like a wadded up fist. Tears streamed down faces and their bodies shook with the chill of the night air.

It was not the lights of the fire trucks or the noise of the equipment that kept me up that night after I returned to the house. It was the frantic cries of the mother echoing in my brain. Her cry was saturated with pain, fear and the realization that everything they had, had been destroyed in just a few minutes. It was a long night.

Yesterday, as I watered the plants on the front porch I noticed the same family standing on the sidewalk enjoying the site of the new house that is being built. It is an impressive house, much larger than the one before. They walked around the perimeter pointing to the different aspects of the house. It was a joy to see this family together and looking at a bright future.

The family soon left, but I remained on the porch. No, I was not dwelling on that terrible night; instead, I was enjoying a glimpse into the future of us all.

Life is full of heartache, pain, loss, uncertainty and despair. However, our future is bright in Christ. As that family stood in front of the house, they were not thinking of the past, that night or the tragedy that brought them there. They were focused on what was to come. To them that house was hope, it was peace and happiness. Jesus in John 14 comforted His disciples and us by letting us know that we would soon be in His Father’s house.

Despite the tragedy of that night there was hope ahead.