I don’t want this to come across as an “I’m just putting something on my blog because ohmygod I haven’t posted in ages!” kind of effort (even if at some level it may be), so here are a couple quick updates. In particular I’ll try to highlight some of the things I’ve posted about “recently.”

• My parents are doing quite well after their house fire last year. I just received word from them today that their construction loan has finally gone through. They are rebuilding on the same piece of land their old house was on, but starting literally from the ground up. They hope to start digging footers for the new construction next week (mid-May) and to be in the house by fall.

• The new Honda Insight has launched, to pretty good reviews I might add, but I’m still not convinced. It is about 4/5 of a Prius at a lower price, both size and mileage-wise. While the $20k price is attractive, I still have significant reservations about the overall environmental impact of all those hybrids’ batteries, even if they do use less fuel.
• I survived my first time through all the major seasons of the church (especially Christmas and Easter) and have emerged unscathed as I prepare to celebrate my 1 year anniversary of being a pastor on June 15th. It’s incredibly hard to believe it’s been almost 11 months, though I guess if you judge by the continually decreasing frequency of my blog posts, it’s not all that surprising.
• Part of the blame for my lack of blogging should also go straight to Facebook and Twitter. The more I seem to get sucked into these social-media oriented sites, the less I create original content for my blog. I do intend to remedy that though …

Rather than inundate you with more semi-interesting updates, I’ll leave you with news about this blog:

No, I am not abandoning it. Yes, I am actively planning new content!

• A review of my recent “road test” of a 2009 Nissan Versa. I’ve had my eye on the Versa as a possible next car for a while now, so you might be interested in my impressions after spending 350 miles with one.
• Some tech updates on “recent” purchases – Lenovo S10 netbook, Nikon D60 Digital SLR camera, and several others.
• Some insight into bicycle commuting – continuing the irony that this gearhead car-blogger often doesn’t even drive a car unless I can’t avoid it!
• A revew of Phyllis Tickle’s The Great Emergence – a wonderful, insightful (and relatively short) book about “how Christianity is changing and why.”
• A semi-regular feature for posting recipes, particularly for the soups and breads I make every Monday night as part of the dinner and conversation group I host.

So, there you go … proof that <montypythonvoice> I’m not dead yet! I’m getting better! </montypythonvoice> Stay tuned for new content coming soon, and feel free to leave your suggestions for interesting posts in the comments section!

Sunday, February 14, when I was 6 years old, we were sitting in worship when one of the ushers came forward and told my family we needed to step outside for a moment. He told my parents that our house was on fire. A neighbor had called the fire department and, knowing where we went to church, called the church. (Ah, the days before cell phones.) We returned home to find that the fire had mostly been extinguished, but one end of our house was a burned-out shell and much of the rest of the house suffered smoke damage.

Sunday, November 30, 20 years, 9 months, and 16I days later, as my parents were driving home to Virginia after visiting my wife Becky and me in Indiana for Thanksgiving, it happened again.

My parents had only been on the road for about an hour when the call came in, this time via cell phone. A neighbor had seen the fire and called 911, but did not know how to reach my family. Another neighbor saw the fire and called yet another neighbor still, who had my Dad’s number.

Receiving the news that your home is on fire is a devastating thing that no one should ever have to bear, even once, let alone twice, in their lives. Yet this actually makes three times for my family. Let me explain: this past March, as high winds whipped across southwest Virginia, a pine tree snapped and fell on a power line, igniting a forest fire. Hardly a month after the 20-year anniversary of our first house fire my parents got word while they were away on a Boy Scout activity that the woods surrounding their house were ablaze. Upon returning home they discovered the house was safe, but the fire had come within 6 feet of a large propane tank and their recently-built barn.

This, the third time they received a call regarding fire and their home, has turned out to be the worst by far.

Pictures

My brother, who lives nearby, got to the house shortly thereafter and took the first pictures we were able to see. Though you couldn’t see much for all the steam and smoke, you can tell that the house was lost.

(The full photo album, including hi-res versions of these pictures, is available here.)

Later conversations with firefighters revealed that the house was almost totally engulfed when they arrived. Surprisingly they were able to save the barn, which sits only 8-10 feet from the house.

My parents finally made it back to what used to be their home at about 10pm. It was then that it began to fully sink in the totality of the destruction.

The next morning, upon returning to the house with some friends, they found that the fire had re-ignited, as if to add insult to injury. The fire department was called once again to put out the flames that threatened what little was left standing from the day before.

Looking through the pictures that my parents have shared, every now and then I get a brief flashback from our first fire. I don’t remember much at all from then, but something about seeing the charred shell of the house, all of the ashes and rubble, occasionally jolts my memory.

It is difficult to look at the pictures and try to remember the way things used to look. Where once stood my childhood bedroom there is now nothing but ash and the springs from a mattress. No walls, no furniture, just destruction.

Appliances were piled on the back deck, the deck which I remember helping my family and friends build.

My father’s office, filled with computers, monitors, printers, and countless parts, is just a collection of disfigured metal shelving and computer cases. Anything plastic seems to have simply vanished.

Though they still await the final inspection, it is believed the fire may have begun around the propane furnace. We found out the neigbor who called 911 came to the house and knocked on doors and windows to see if my parents were at home, and turned off the propane at the tank, which may have helped to save the barn from burning as well.

My mother’s car, which was parked next to the house, was also damaged. A side window busted, the windshield cracked, and the side mirror melted. Both sets of keys to their third vehicle were all inside the house as well.

What’s next

Now begins the long process of greiving, recovering, and rebuilding. Mom and Dad have been surrounded with love and support from the many communities they are a part of, especially their church. Many of their friends from church walked with them through this 20 years ago.

They are staying nearby with friends for the time being, and intend to find a house to rent before Christmas. Since they had been visiting us they had more with them than they might have been able to save otherwise, including their laptop computers, quite a few clothes, and their dog.

The insurance company has been very helpful thus far and based on past experience will likely continue to be. After a final inspection of the house my parents will begin to literally sift through the ashes in search for anything that might be salvageable. It won’t be an entirely unfamiliar undertaking for them, though this time there will be much less that is saved.

I am thankful that so many people have showered them with support, love, and prayers in the midst of this tragedy, especially with being so far away myself. I anticipate going home at Christmas; I don’t know that there’s much that me being there now would accomplish. Becky and I have spent a lot of time on the phone with them the past couple days and I’m sure we’ll continue to talk with them a lot, giving them both support and listening ears to process things.

Many people have expressed a desire to help out somehow. We’re still working on figuring out what help is needed and how all of us can best lend our support. One of the things my parents have suggested is that anyone who might have old pictures of our family, either from family events, Boy Scouts, school, marching band, etc. can scan those pictures for them as a way to begin to piece together some of the irreplacable things that were lost. As I find out more ways to help, I’ll be sure and post them here on my blog, on facebook, and maybe even on twitter.

The “God Question”

Being a person who spends quite a bit of time thinking about faith, God, and life, it seems unsurprising that I’ve thought a lot about where God is in the midst of such tragedy.

It is tempting to see events such as this as divine retribution for things we’ve done wrong, or a sign of some sort. Some might even see it as a positive gift from God, a chance to cleanse and purge all of the excess stuff from life and start anew. Both of these assume that God was behind this tragedy, that God caused it for some divine purpose.

But that’s not how I see it. I don’t think God causes tragedy. I don’t think God causes babies to die, car accidents to take the lives of teenagers, hurricanes and tsunamis to destroy entire cities, or propane furnaces to malfunction and burn down houses. I simply don’t believe that is how God works. The world we live in is an imperfect place where unexplainable tragedies are an unfortunate part of life.

The way I see it, when such awful things happen, God may not be the force that causes them, but God is actively walking beside us, supporting us, and helping us to rise from the ashes. It is with the help of God that people are able to forgive someone who killed one of their family members. It is by God’s work in our lives that we are able to find a kernel of hope in the midst of great loss. God is with us in the darkest hour and points us toward the light of a new day. God accompanies us as we sort through the rubble, cries with us in our pain, and gives us strength to face tomorrow.

No one deserves tragedy. Not my family, not yours, no one. It is my hope and prayer that in the midst of this tragedy, as in all tragedies, that those of us who are hurting, mourning, and feeling helpless will feel the presence of the Divine Comfortor with us, walking with us into tomorrow, whatever tomorrow may bring.