Midnight, last night

It's a scary thing to be suddenly awakened from a sound sleep by the smell of smoke. Realizing that the faint haze in the moonlit room isn't a lack of focus from bleary eyes, but is very real.

Wood fires and trash fires smell a bit like that.... so do structure fires. I woke the husband and we checked our home thoroughly - even though by then it was obvious the haze and stench were coming from somewhere outside.

We went outside and checked the immediate neighbors' homes. No sign of flames. Our roof was clear as well. But the haze covered the entire neighborhood. And then, the sound of sirens.... passing within a block of our home, and stopping almost immediately.

The chapel a few blocks over was on fire. It was brought under control fairly quickly, and didn't spread to any surrounding structures. Even so, damage was pretty extensive, and arson is strongly suspected. I drove past on the way home after work, and the entire area is still taped off as the investigation continues... it will take a while to clean up and rebuild, if the congregation chooses to do so.

It took us a while to get back to sleep. Some years ago, our own church building across town was hit by an arsonist. We've lived through this, and the adrenaline reaction to this fire took a while to subside. I used last night as an excuse to add a couple more smoke detectors and a 2nd fire extinguisher to our own home.

The most important thing is, no one was hurt or killed. God is good.

The Church is not a building.... it is the hearts and dedication of the people. I hope they understand that, and choose to rebuild.