I think that being double or even triple punched is most difficult.  The fire is a hard thing to deal with, but then Jessie dying makes the fire look easy.  Next, Hannah will be leaving.  Fortunately that is a happy time, but still stressful in a good kind of way.  For Hannah, it is like her whole childhood is gone at one time.  She is quite ready to move out and start the next phase of her life.

            Such a drastic change in dynamics is unusual.  Normally, we change one thing at a time.  However, these changes are mostly forced this time.  It gives a whole new perspective to life.  The lesson I am learning from this is my same old motto from the cancer days…Live Fully.  You do not know what will happen tomorrow.  It cannot be predicted.  Who would have thought…a house fire?  I never dreamed of such.  It came completely out of the blue, seemingly so random.  I could not have predicted our dog would die…another random event.  If nothing else is taken from this occurrence I am seeing that living fully is not something to think about only when your life hangs in the balance.  It is a daily way of life.  The further out I get from my cancer, the more I get pulled back into the busyness of life.  It is easy to slip back into old habits of being more worried about the clutter in the house than in the relationships.  A fire is particularly conducive to this because all your effort is in thinking about your stuff…what you have and how much it all costs.  Yet, it is also a reality check that life is random.  We are not in control of as much as we think we are.  The unthinkable can happen in seconds and your life will never be the same. 

            We are all alive and safe…except for Jessie.  God has been so faithful to find us a place.  He has pulled us together through not only the fire, but also the death of our dog.  Now we are all trying to get in last minute Hannah time, because we know that it too is limited.  We are grateful and appreciative of each moment together. 

            As school starts back full swing, take some time to appreciate your relationships.  Allow your hardships to become reminders of your love for one another and of God’s love for you.  Simplify your life to a moment by moment journey that is uplifting to those around you.  Hardships can make your or break you…or both.  Do not get so lost in the event that you miss the value in it.  We are all on this journey of life.  Sometimes the road is harder than others, but if we learn to appreciate the bad stuff for what it can offer us, we can relish the good days even more. We know that all things are possible through Christ and that is where the rubber meets the road.  The pain is our weakness, but through it we are made strong…more opposite talk from the creator of the universe. He is such a mystery, but so completely trustworthy.