Materialism and Preparedness

Yesterday we found out that our dear friends no longer lived in their house--a couple weeks ago a bolt of lightening struck their utility room and set their house on fire.

Fortunately they were not home when it happened.

Fortunately somebody familiar with neighbors happened to be driving by and called 911.

The neighbors were able to get in and save the cat.

Even the pet fish managed to survive!

But the house did not.

The fire tore through the attic.

The attic that held the holiday decorations.

The attic that held the wedding dress and wedding decorations I, and others, had made for them.

The attic that held totes upon totes of clothing for her kids--clothes being passed on to the littlest, the next season/size for the oldest that had been gleaned from conscientious shopping of consignment sales.

As the fire tore through the attic, and as the firefighters battled the blaze with their water hoses, the ceiling gave way and all the careful cleaning that had occurred that very afternoon was wasted.

Smoke, water, charred debris littered every inch of what remained of their house.

This dear friend is a phenomenal couponer--utilizing coupons to stock a food storage for her family for pennies on the dollar. She isn't wasteful or greedy like the Extreme Couponers. She is a wise manager of her home, pantry, and budget. Her modest stockpile is gone. Where they once had peace of mind about having food and goods (like dish detergent) to squeak through tight times, they now have nothing.

No home, no pantry stash, lost family history memorabilia...


But they have each other. They have their family. They have their extended family. They have friends.  They have a few belongings that a disaster clean-up company is trying to make usable once more.

For me, seeing the pictures of during and after was heart-wrenching. All the effort, planning, and expense literally down the drain. The realization that one is no longer prepared when their preparations go up in smoke.... How do you prepare your food storage for a house fire? How do you have a 72hr kit when the disaster strikes your home while you're away? And if you resort to keeping your 72hr kit in the vehicle, what do you do in the event of a vehicle fire or loss?

Yes, this line of thought could get bogged down in despair and paranoia. But what all of this reminds me of is a tale about a housefire in Arizona where a tearful 5yo boy, while watching his house burn, declared that he didn't lose his home. That was his house burning, but his home was wherever his family was.