by Mike Leisner

My wife Jan’s anticipation was contagious. “This is going to be our biggest party ever!” My daughter and I had arranged the specialty salads, hors d’oeuvres and all the fixings.

It was Sunday, December 26, 2004 – Boxing Day. We had spent Christmas Day with close friends in our country house, our dream home. You know–brick, shake roof, fireplaces, sauna and hot tub–all nestled in a storybook setting. I often told people “the only way I’m leaving this place is in a pine box, or if they cart me off to the madhouse.” One friend was cautious,  saying, “I wouldn’t put any money on the box.”

Whitney pointed at a recessed light above the kitchen island. “Dad, that light is starting to steam!” I lunged for the wall switch, flipping it off. The last thing we wanted was shattered glass in the food. The room seemed hazy, but the fireplace was roaring and a fat turkey and juicy ham merrily roasted in the double oven. I walked by the oven near the garage service door and heard a blowing sound like a blowtorch. Instinctively, I had a flash of revelation. I knew that sound would change our lives. Without thinking, I threw open the door and was greeted by a hot, boiling, swirling ball of fire.

Jan recalls my shout ripping the silence of her nap, “The house is on fire!” It was just seconds later that the four startled children were clustered by the front door. Two ran out into the icy sixteen-degree coldness to see the blaze. They needed their boots on! “Get in here and put your boots on!” I clasped my mouth, “What am I saying?” “No, stay outside and put these boots on!” I began to toss boots and coats out the door without regard to whose was whose!

Neighbors quickly appeared and fire was now pouring out of the roof. It took five men to push an old Chevrolet away from the garage to the street. It was only possible because it was on ice. The second Chevy was easier–it didn’t have a flat tire. Ten minutes after the 911 call, the fire trucks arrived. It seemed like 25 minutes. From the front yard we watched our dream house burn down. Jan lamented, “And it was all clean!”

We spent the next 39 days down the road at the AmericInn. The first few days Mike was across the street at Wal-Mart so much that people thought he worked there. For the first time in their lives, our children marched off to school with backpacks and uniforms in the early morning and came home on the yellow bus. Home school was over and life had changed.

A couple of days after the fire, I stood in the cold, looking at the charred area. Thankfully, our family pictures and albums had been kept safe in the basement, but nearly 20 years of daily and weekly Gospel radio shows, all the master tapes and some real vintage stuff burned into oblivion. Over 25 years worth of original copies of flyers and pamphlets that I had used on campuses and elsewhere all turned to ashes. I noticed a final draft of a humorous “How To” book lying in the ashes. Original cartoons and computer discs were reduced to a mound of black soot. This stuff represented hundreds, yes, several thousands of sweat and blood in the Christian arena–now landfill fodder. Later that day in the hotel, the realization came that most will wait until eternity to have God put the torch to their deeds, their activities, their stuff. I’ve had the rare privilege of the Lord doing it ahead of time.

Months ago, while at some friends for a special prayer meeting, the guest speaker went around the room praying for and giving each person a specific word from the Lord. He came to Jan and said, “Jan, God has taken you at your word and you’ve passed the test!” She laughed out load. You see, over the years, when one of the kids would tear, scratch or break something, she used to say, “It’s okay; it’s all going to burn anyway. It’s all going to burn!”

My prayer for each of us is that we pass the test. Our life is not a trial run. When the smoke clears, may we come forth as gold.

Our society loves, is driven by and even worships “stuff.” How tightly do you hold to the things of this world? Have you recently spent time asking God to help you prioritize your life ambitions and desires? We never know when we may encounter a life-changing experience such as this family did. Is your life in order? Are you ready to face the test? Perhaps 2006 will be a good time to lay your “stuff” at God’s feet and allow Him to “fix your eyes fully upon Jesus”? Unlike the “stuff” and circumstances of this life, He is our only constant. His ways are the only real investments worth the sacrifice.