A Change of Plans

This week, I was going to write about the great laundry fiasco that happened at our house. I hate when laundry piles up and gets folded and refolded and then sometimes never put away before wearing it again. I came up with a system to help with that issue that lasted for 3 weeks max. This week was not one of those weeks that I followed my new system. Laundry started showing up everywhere waiting to be folded while it disappeared in the other places where it should have been.

I was going to write about that today, but then something much worse happened. Our little family was just finishing supper last evening, when Allen got a call from the neighbor.

"Your shop is on fire."

"Are you serious?" Allen replied. He soon hung up and said he was heading over. I looked at my toddlers and then held their sticky little fingers in mine and started praying. Praying for safety for everyone and peace for Allen.

Then I called my next door neighbor. She said she could come over right away. Gracia was crying, Jasper was very sad that Daddy left and he wanted to "help" too. I could understand. What a helpless feeling it is to know that a place you love to gather in, has flames shooting out of the roof. 

The cause is uncertain, but we do know there was an explosion in the center of the shop around 6:58 PM. Allen and the children had been playing in there less than an hour before it blew. We are so incredibly grateful that God spared their lives. 

Our neighbor kindly stayed and played with the children while I got them dressed for bed, read them their bedtime story and tucked them into their cribs. Deanne and Mom got back from the event they were attending and helped finish putting children to sleep so that I could go to be with Allen. 

The whole building is lost, though some office items are salvageable. Allen had his brand new tool trailer in there, freshly stocked with all of his tools just that day. His faithful red truck that has served him for years was hooked up to the trailer ready to pull out today to help install a shower. That along with most of Allen's other equipment and some of our personal property stored in the building are gone. 

Allen and I sat in the living room after returning home and I started to take care of our laundry fiasco, because my hands needed something to do. There it is now, folded and piled all over the back of the couch just waiting for our toddlers to wake up and throw it across the room. And you know what? It doesn't even matter! I'm so thankful for a family safe in my home ready to wake up tomorrow and undo all the cleaning I did yesterday. God is good.