What You Have When You Lose Everything

It's been a crazy year.  A year full of firsts, amazing memories, new experiences and growth.   Last July, we heard the Lord tell us to put our house in Edmond up for rent.  We did just that, and in less than 24 hours, we had 20 applicants hoping they would be the ones to move in.  Without knowing where God wanted us to go, we chose an amazing family to stay in our home. 10 days later, we moved to Luther.

What happened in those 10 days can only be described as a series of miracles.  We saw God work visually and through other people in ways we could never have imagined.  He told us we would be there for a year.  We moved into this little 600sq feet home on 30 acres.  We had a big metal barn in the back where we could store all of our other belongings (since we moved in a short period of time from a 1600sq ft home).

In the time living in this home, God did a lot of things through our family.  We experienced a home with land and played uncountable hours outside with our children.  We simplified our lives, and paid off lots of debt! God grew our marriage to a whole new level, and we healed from many past hurts.  We built priceless relationships with families in Luther.  Tobin experienced his first year in public school.  Pre-K.  My Scentsy business continued to build and grow as I added new members to my team.  I found an incredible doctor that was able to put the pieces together about what was causing my illnesses.  We lived closer to family, which strengthened relationships.  It was evident that we were in the center of God's plan for our lives.

Two weeks ago, we were approaching the one year anniversary of moving.  We knew August 2nd would be a year, and we knew God wanted us there a year.  The only problem now was, we didn't know where to go.  We fasted and prayed, and heard God tell us to "stay put until I move you."  We did just that.  I spent last month organizing every detail in our home and barn.  Tony helped, of course.  We were waiting on God to do his work and show us what to do next.

Two days ago, on Friday, August 3rd, 2012, we were taking a nap with our children.  We had been up till the wee hours of the morning helping with preparations for a friends wedding.  I had laid out our clothes for the wedding that evening and painted my fingernails.  It was a normal day.  We all laid down to rest before getting ready for the wedding.  We had not been resting for even 45 minutes when I awoke to a pounding on our door.  It was our 82 year old neighbor.   I opened the door and to my shock and dismay, the field in front of our home was on fire.  We grabbed the kids, put shoes on our feet, grabbed the folder of important papers and got in the car.  We had maybe seconds to spare.  Within 10 minutes our home was in flames.  From that moment on, everything we had left was in our car.  The four of us are safe.  That's the main thing.  It's the only thing that really matters.

The events keep replaying in my head like a movie.  It just doesn't seem real to me.  We feel so blessed to have been spared.  When the reality hit, we realized we had been there exactly one year.  I am not saying God started the fire or chose to burn down our house.  He simply prepared our hearts and gave us discernment to be ready for what he had for us next.  We sit in awe in pure thankfulness.  We are thankful for our safety.   We are thankful for our sweet neighbor, Haskell, who woke us up and saved our lives. We are thankful for being in that little house on all that land for the past year.   We got out with the PJ's on our body, and that is no exaggeration.

All of the above make us thankful for our many friends, family, and loved ones who have rallied around us to help provide for our immediate needs.  I am especially grateful for Pastor Miles and our Lifechurch.tv family.  Although I would have told you that our church is our extended family, we could not have imagined their generosity.   We have frequently been moved to tears by their support. Oddly enough, we are now thankful and hopeful for our future.  We have a new start.  God has restored our family and will restore all of our "stuff."  We are also thankful for renters insurance. 

Please continue to uplift our family in prayer.  If you would like to help, some friends of ours set up a share campaign, and you can see the link on my Facebook page.  There is a Facebook page called "Blessings for Tony and Rachel Cobb".  There are things to pray for on this page, and a list of needs.

My heart hurts this morning with the reality that all of our earthly comforts are gone, but rejoices that our Heavenly Comforter loves us so much!

With anticipation and gratefulness,
Rachel