ON SICKNESS, HOUSE FIRES AND COMMUNITY

It's been a long time since I've been sick. I've had the sniffles and achey body here and there over the years, but this past week I was the, smack down in the bed, don't even want to get up to go pee, kind of sick.  I had a cough from deep in my chest that felt like my insides were raw.  If I breathed in too deeply the cough that came out of me went on for so long that I blacked out a bit and puked.

Isn't that pretty?

I've said all this to say that sometimes, we really take life for granted.  It's so easy to get down in the dumps over this child's learning disability or that child's personality disorder, but man, when we weigh that against not being able to breathe, somehow, life seems so very precious.

Friday, was the day that I started to feel stronger.  I had a good 4 days of Amoxicillin in my body by that point. (I can't take a Zpack because I'm allergic to mycin drugs)  I sat down to go through the 300+ emails that had accumulated over the past 2 days.  One of the emails caught my eye...

"Shelly, Marcie had a house fire.  I think everyone got out okay. I don't know the extent of the damage.  I thought you should know."


I had to read the short email twice for the information to sink in.  My mushy, antibiotic soaked brain woke up quickly....

WHAT?! "OUR" Marcie? Marcie with the 10 kids, MARCIE?!?!

Marcie and Steve live 1 mile from our home.  They are the sweetest homeschooling family in the world.  All of their kids are spunky and high spirited with smiles that do not end.  I stopped everything, popped the kids in the van and ran over to their house.

The sight that met my eyes took my breath away.  Men were milling about in front of Marcie's home.  The windows were boarded up and people were talking in low murmurs. The front door was open, the smell of smoke permiated the air.  I could see nothing but black, charred coals through the door.

Jonathan, age 17, noticed our van as I drove up.  Our eyes met.  I asked if everyone was okay and he smiled his usual smile.

"Yes, we're all fine."
"Where's your mom?"
"She in that car right there."

Marcie was 4 houses away, getting out of a white vehicle and limping.  Her neighbor was taking her in for a bite to eat.  As I pulled up, Marcie smiled.

"Well, Hi Shelly.  How are you?"

I felt strong up to that point, but something about her voice...her words and demeanor tore tears from my eyes.  Wet streams jerked forward and flowed down my face as I smiled back.

She gave me a big hug as I asked if she was okay.  She was limping, smiling and tired.  Her foot was badly burned and yet, she had that sparkle in her eye and a kind word for her friends.

A tall, large man working the scene helped put the three youngest kids in my van so they could be cared for while Marcie got medical attention.  He couldn't help but tell the story...it came spilling out of him as if he had to purge it from his system.

"Did you hear what happened?"

I listened as he explained about the crash sound that woke up Marcie.  The blasting of the window and the inferno that came spilling out of the furnace room.  He described the scramble to grab all the kids from the blazing home.  His voice choked as he talked about Jonathan...dear, sweet 17 year old Jonathan the brave...who realized that his four year old brother, Sammy was still inside.  Without a thought, he ran back into the choking, black smoke and blazing fire, bounding up the stairs.  He found Sammy but was unable to go back down the stairs as they had been quickly engulfed by flames.  The window would have to do.  As he held his baby brother he looked out the second story window, he had to make the hard choice to drop him.  David the mighty, age 20, rounded the house in time to see what was happening.

"Here!  Drop Him!! Get out!"

Jonathan dropped Sammy safely into David's arms. Jonathan had to climb out of the window and navigate down the side of the house before the flames and smoke overtook him.

Later, tiny Sammy told me that Jonathan was Spiderman.  I smiled and agreed that Jonathan is definitely his super hero. Spiderman should aspire to be so brave.

That was Friday.  The Homeschooling community and Marcie's home church has stepped up in a mighty way.  The group I founded had meals, food and clothing gathered and to the family that day.  By the next day we had meals taken care of through most of April.  Marcie's church stepped in to take over, as they have resources beyond our capabilities.  They even know someone from Extreme Home Makeover!

God had his mighty hand on this family.  The community they've built around themselves is here to help them and THAT is a testament to their character and strength.  We all want to help because we all KNOW they would do it for us.

Thank God for family and community.  I'm crossing my fingers for the Home Makeover.  If anyone would appreciate it, they would.