I want to share with you how God manifested His awesomeness in my life early this month...I hope you don't mind me sharing this...:)

When our house was on fire last, June 6, 2019 despite the devastation around, praise God that all I saw were God's Faithfulness, His Protection, His Goodness and the Grace to Forgive.

God's Faithfulness was manifested by containing the fire at the back portion of the house destroying only the back room, kitchen, dining room, common CR, laundry room, walls on both the ground floor and the 2nd floor; and the miracle that it rained so hard the night before that the barrels outside the house were filled with water (as water is scarce in that part of the barangay). It was also by divine providence that my Dad was still at home and not have left for work. Had it only been the househelp and the kids, our entire house could have burned to the ground. It was also such a blessing that my Dad was able to wake-up 'coz had be been still sleeping (at that time, He usually is), he might not have been able to wake-up anymore with the suffocation from the smoke. He was trapped on the 2nd floor of the house and could no longer pass by the stairs due to the thick smoke. Good thing, he still had his wits with him despite being a senior citizen, he became spider man (hehe) and jumped off the front terrace to the tree nearby and ran at the back of the house to help the Nanny extinguish the fire.

His Protection, by keeping everyone safe (just some minor burns and wounds but nothing serious). The kids were more excited than afraid to see the big flames (I feared that they might have been traumatized by the experience...but they were very happy about it...thank God for their innocence...hehe). When I talked to my kids when we arrived home, they were thanking Jesus that the fire did not destroy the entire house, their Yaya and Lolo were okay and that they were able to save their toys. (They only thought about their toys...hehe..) It was also a blessing that when the fire happened, I was at work when I received the call from my Dad (had I been at the scene when it happened, I don't know what could have happened to me and the baby). By the time my husband and I arrived home, the fire was completely out and only saw the house repainted black and gray with no more windows (as the neighbors needed to destroy it to let the smoke since they couldn't pass by the front door because of the smoke, the only way in was either thru the back or thru the window where they rescued the kids).

His Goodness, by sending in our neighbors who selflessly went inside the house to help extinguish the fire not thinking about their safety just to get both my kids out and help my Dad and the Nanny. I cried when I heard the news and cried again when I arrived home, but then God gave me the inspiration and the joy to see how He will be glorified in this tragedy. The tears turned to excitement, joy and nothing but thanksgiving for what the Lord has done for us that day. God also provided and continues to provide people and resources to help us slowly rebuild what we have lost....we have started with the repairs and would probably be finished in a month or two.

The Grace to Forgive. Over dinner that night, no one was angry, distressed or sad. No one was pointing fingers or arguing. Instead, we shared stories and laughter relieving all that transpired when the fire broke lose. We chose to be grateful for what's left and not with what's lost. We chose to forgive, to show compassion, love and understanding to our househelp who started the fire. I tended to her wounds, bound her hair so it wouldn't reach her nape that was burned and gave her the assurance that what we lost were just material things and what's important was the life of every single individual in our household. We chose to be hopeful and joyful just as Jesus wants us to be. Despite the darkness that surrounded us (also because there was no electricity that time..hehe) there was so much light in the room because we chose PEACE...and only Jesus was able to give us that...:)

Every single event that happened that day was like a tapestry woven perfectly by God to create a masterpiece and to remind us that He was, is and will be constantly with us...:)

My prayer is that the Lord will continue to instill in us that "glass half full" attitude of thanksgiving.

The fire that destroyed our house became a fire that burned with passion for the Lord. I'm sure that God has something great in store for all of us! I'm excited to see it!

Romans 5:3-5
3 We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope. 5 This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us.