Smoke Detectors are those kind of “insurance policies” you
are glad you have but hope you never have to use. Well a couple weekends ago, we were glad we
had them and they were working! God “winked”
several times in this story.
As we were sitting down for dinner and catching up with a high
school friend of mine in town, Dave got a call from a tenant moving into our
rental. He didn’t take it immediately
but a few minutes later called her back.
He told me later the young lady who called usually texts and since she
called, he thought he should return the call.
We are glad he listened to his “gut”
instincts.
She said a smoke detector went off in the house. He went to look and returned several minutes
later. He said there was smoke in the attic and a black mark around a light
fixture on the second floor. He came
back for a face mask and apologized to our guest for having to leave so early
into the visit. She understood and
mentioned he might want to call the fire department.
The boys, my friend and I were getting ready to walk to the
ice cream store downtown and we hear the sirens, a LOT of them! As we walked down past the street of our
rental, sure enough, all the sirens were for my husband’s call.
I would hear later that night in greater detail what occurred. A small fire had started in the ceiling
around the light fixture and there were small embers coming out of the ceiling
around the fixture as the firefighters did their job of poking around. The water hoses came out and they got to work
to put it all out.
I am so glad Dave called to have the firefighters check the
ceiling fixture. Among Dave’s instinct
to call back the young lady and then to check out the attic more closely, God
blessed us in other areas as well:
1)
We didn’t
lose the entire house!! The girls were
just starting to move in to the house that night. There was one girl starting to move her
things when the smoke detector went off.
If it had been a couple days earlier and no one was moved in yet, we
could have lost the house.
2)
No one
was hurt!! It was in the hours of day
where no one was sleeping and unaware.
3)
The smoke detector went off!
4)
The fire department responded quickly!
We
are very thankful for God’s protection and provision. We have insurance and have the damage
covered. It could have been much worse.
On
a fun, side note: Cleaning out the house
Dave found a large TV the prior and current tenants did not want. So, the boys have a FREE TV for their Wii
Sports they are getting for Christmas.
God
provided a TV for my boys in the midst of the fire.
God
does the extra just because He can. Love
that about how He works in our lives in small, unexpected provisions.
May you see Him in the big and small of your life
as He provides.
by Joni Ormsbee
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