Just before the pandemic my friend’s house caught fire.

Teresa and her family had been out to dinner and they arrived home to see their gorgeous Northside Chicago house surrounded by fire trucks hosing down the smoke and flames.

All Teresa’s family could do was stand and watch in stunned silence at the nightmare unfolding before them.

Then Teresa's youngest son came up beside her and put his arms around her waist.

He said, ‘Mom, I can’t bear to think of all the stuff that’s burning up right now! My clothes, the furniture, our bikes, all of our electronics!’

Teresa said, ‘Yes, this is a tragedy isn’t it?’

Then Teresa asked her son a question: ‘But what’s the most valuable thing this family has?’

Without hesitating, her son said, ’That’s easy, it’s all of us.”

“That’s right,” his mother said, “And we’re OK. No matter what happens to all our stuff, we have each other to get us through this. And that’s all we need.”

The soothing voice of someone who loves us more than themselves… of someone who puts tragedy into perspective… of someone who speaks truth in the face of great fear… that’s what Teresa did. 

That’s what God is doing.

Right now many of us are like Teresa. 

We're forced to stand and watch many of our hopes, dreams, and opportunities go up in smoke.

But God is coming alongside us, like the good parent God is, to comfort, assure, and encourage. In church this Sunday we’ll hear these words, ‘Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you’ and we’ll be reminded of the great love and care God has for us.

May God give us perspective and gratitude as we endure that we never thought we’d have to endure.