On January 1, 2012, my wife and I lost our home to a house fire. Easily the most difficult event in our 25 years of marriage. It was the place where we raised our two sons. It was the place where we held a house church for two years and baptized new believers in the swimming pool. It was where we saw our sons learn music and where we made recordings in the upstairs studio. However, It was actually what happened just before and just after the fire that changed my life the most.

BEFORE: Just prior to the fire, I had been asked to teach at our local church. I believed that I was to speak on God’s Will. So I studied, preparing myself for the meeting. I learned a lot during that preparation but what stuck with me the most was the verse, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s Will for you”. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) It is rare to find the actual words, “God’s Will” in the Bible, but seeing it in this context, helped me understand that being in God’s Will wasn’t necessarily as difficult as I had come to think… after all, just “Give Thanks”. I had no idea what circumstances were coming.

THE DAY: It was a Sunday. New Year’s Day, January 1, 2012. I was leading worship music in a small church in Weatherford, Texas. A friend had given Susan and I tickets to see “Les Miserables” that afternoon. It was a live production in Dallas, about 90 minutes away and we were excited to have a Sunday afternoon “date”. Usually when leading worship, I don’t say a whole lot, I know there is usually plenty of teaching after the worship music, so I leave that alone. On this New Year’s morning, I felt an urge to say something that had been on my mind that morning.

I said, “I believe God is going to show us a revelation of the Body of Christ (the Church) as we’ve never seen it. I believe it for me, and I want you to believe it for you.”

After the service, we went home, changed clothes and headed to Dallas for the show. Susan wanted to wear a ring I had given her at Christmas so she slipped off her wedding ring and replaced it with the new one.

We were exactly halfway into “Les Mis” when our phones started blowing up. We attempted to ignore the vibrations in our pockets but finally we scooted out (from the middle of the second row). In the lobby, Susan returned one of the many calls and collapsed under the weight of the news.

I practically carried her to the car and the hour plus trip home was tear-filled, surreal and it took much longer than it seemed it should. When we were about 15 miles away, the unbelievable news was confirmed again when we saw the smoke filling the air ahead.

Want to guess what popped into my head at the sight of the smoke? 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Susan and I began to pray, tears streaming down our faces, and we thanked God in the midst of our circumstance. Of course we weren’t thanking Him FOR the circumstance but we were thankful that we had a God that had proven Himself as loving and worthy of our trust and that we could receive His love and trust Him even through the destruction that lay ahead.

We were met with what seemed to be 100 people. Many from our Church along with family, fire-fighters and policemen. A couple from the church offered us their bed and breakfast until other arrangements were made. Already, I was seeing that morning’s prophecy come to pass.

AFTER: The next morning, we came back to what had been our home for more than ten years. In the driveway were six of our closest friends. Jerry and Dawn Garner, Tony and Jane Ford, and Doug and Lindy Shelton have been meeting with us in a small Christian marriage support group we called “2-B-1″ for five years. They were there waiting for us.

I told Tony that my main concern was Susan’s wedding ring. (I always liked it when she called it, ‘her marryin’ ring”.) As we walked back to the part of the house where our bedroom and master bath was, the scene went from dismal to worse. In the master bathroom where Susan had removed her wedding ring, we could not even find the bathtub. No sinks. Actually, if you have ever seen where it rained into a charcoal grill, that was what most of the house was like… times a million… and the goo was knee deep in the bathroom area.

After about an hour of poking in the ashy sludge with a stick, I was ready to give up. Tony looked at me with a look that I can best describe as hopeless but willing to press on. He closed his eyes, squatted back down and said, “Father, you have eyes that can see what we can’t. If it’s Your will for us to find this ring, please help us see what only You can see. In Jesus name, Amen.”

When he opened his eyes, his hand went straight into the ash and pulled out the blackened ring. His eyes were opened wide and he held the ring between my face and his and said, “What are you going to do with that, brother?!?”

I wish I had the words to describe what I felt at that moment. The closest I can come, was that I knew God cared and that surely the peace that passes all understanding filled my heart.

“I am going to put that on the finger of my bride”. What else would I say?

Just then, Susan came back into the room. I put the ring on her finger and I will never forget her words: “We may have lost everything, but with this and each other… we have everything we need. We will come back from this.”

Our relationship grew exponentially right then.

And that is the story of how I lost everything only to find what mattered most. Please feel free to share this story and comment below. I would love to hear how events in your life inspired and shaped you, too. Our God is able to use all things to bring us joy, deepen our relationships and broaden our character. I pray that God blesses you today… and always.