Why?


It was Christmas night and we had a house full of guests—eleven to be exact. You can imagine the hubbub of activity going on in order to get the Christmas evening meal on the table. Turkey, dressing and all of the trimmings can be a difficult meal to get everything prepared at the same time. The green beans had been cooking at a very low temperature, so when I took them off of the burner to put them into the serving dish, I forgot to turn the gas flame off. 


The meal was served, and the dishes cleaned and put away when we all decided to watch the movie, Dolphin Tale. All were crowded onto the sofa and lounge chairs to watch the heartwarming story. Some ended up sleeping through parts of the movie with snores or just a few minutes of shut eye, so when it was over we were all ready for bed. Just a quick visit to the kitchen was needed to flip off the lights and check the appliances. I glanced at the stove, and there were no flames, so I started to turn away, but something (or Someone) stopped me and made me look again, it was then that I discovered the knob was in the “on” position. No flames, but on—that signals gas leaking in my mind. Without thinking I flipped the knob to the off position and the flames leapt up as it turned past the place where it is lit.


I confessed to my family and other guests that the gas had been on for the past few hours, but most people didn’t seem too concerned until my son-in-law went to let the dogs out and when he returned announced that the house smelled like gas. Apparently the gas leak was so slow that we couldn’t tell that the gas had been permeating the house as we watched the movie. We began airing it out by opening windows and doors at opposite ends of the house and finally we were able to go to bed, safe and sound. God had protected us. The story could have ended very differently. The house could have blown up when I turned the gas off and the flames flared up. We could have all been asphyxiated while watching the movie or the house could have caught on fire as we slept that night.


Why did God allow my family to be protected, yet the night before three children and their grandparents had been killed in a fire caused by embers put outside so that Santa Claus would not be burned when coming down the chimney? I don’t understand why God had me look twice at the stove before going to bed, and these precious children looking forward to Santa’s visit were not spared. 


Don’t get me wrong, I went to bed that night grateful and praising God for His hand of protection, but it still does not make sense to me. I have determined that there are simply some things that we cannot explain…we can’t even expect to understand, but I do know one thing, I am thankful that my name was not part of a headline the day after Christmas.


Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.


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