A Fire... with a Miracle

Two weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon,

 I received a text from my mother with this picture, 

The text said: "Mom was home alone but got out in time".  

Those were all the details we were given.

Looking at this picture now still gives me chills and it just doesn't seem possible. 

Later... we heard the rest of the story. 

This tragic fire took place in New Brunswick, Canada.  My Gram, who is blind and 90 years old, was home alone on Sunday afternoon.  She was waiting for my mother's weekly phone call, sitting in her chair, with the phone in her hand, when she heard what sounded like something falling off the roof.  She got up to go outside when the fire alarm began to go off.  She left the kitchen, walked through the porch, past the fuse box, and through fire and flames reached the outside porch.  My aunt, who lives just down the hill, had run up to try to get Gram out.  She had been banging on the windows and could not get through the door.  She heard a noise and turned to see my Gram standing on the porch steps, bewildered at what was going on.  My aunt grabbed my Gram and helped her walk to safety, and minutes later the porch was in flames, as can be seen in the above picture.  My Gram's animals, a cat and a dog did not make it out of the fire.  The dog was found on the porch that my Gram walked through!  

Gram did not have any smell of smoke or fire on her clothes and was completely unharmed.  It has been a miracle that we have rejoiced over, even as we have grieved the loss of the 103-year old home.  My Gram moved there when she was married, living there for 73 years! All of it, gone, in just a few minutes.  Treasures, keepsakes, pictures, memories, a lifetime of living, gone in just a few moments of time. My Aunt Jenny lived with her as well and had all of her life's possessions in that home too.  Gone in a short moment of time.  One of my uncles had just finished putting in over 10 cords of wood in the basement for the winter.  Gone... in just a few moments of time.  Treasures and keepsakes brought over from Denmark by my great-grandparents when they emigrated to Canada, gone... in just a few moments of time. 

But the miraculous thing is that my Gram was able to get out.  Even the dog, who was on the porch, did not make it out.  But Gram did.  Gram has been telling everyone that the Lord got her out, and we believe that the Lord walked her through the fire on the porch, and kept her safe.  Later, when you see the video, you will see what my aunt saw as she was running up the hill to try to get my Gram out.  She couldn't get to her.  But the Lord walked with Gram out of that fire, and we are so thankful to have Gram with us today! At 90 years old, she has become an evangelist, telling everyone what the Lord did for her! 

A picture of Gram with her cat just a few days before the fire.  She loved this kitty, and it sadly did not survive the fire, was found in my Gram's bedroom.  Had my Gram been taking a Sunday afternoon nap with kitty, it would have been a different story.  But she was sitting up, waiting on my Mom's phone call. God's hand of provision! 

The old home sitting up on the hill, in all of Fall's glory. 

The house that sat on this hill for 103 years... gone in just a few moments of time. 

My beautiful Gram, standing on her porch, this picture taken in early springtime. 

A recent picture of my Mom and Dad with my Gram and Aunt Jenny.  

Family members gathered to go through the ashes and save what little could be saved.  
One of the first finds was this book I made for my Gram after our 2018 visit. 

Out of the flames, a page from the book. 

This devotion was found in the fire... an incredible thing for all of us to see! 

One of the earliest finds was this beautiful devotion that survived the fire, with one of my favorite scriptures on it, Isaiah 26:3  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." I had mentioned this verse in my last post, as a verse that was bringing peace to all of us as we mourned the loss of this home full of such treasured memories.  And, the Lord truly has been the support, the glue, the foundation, and the strength for my Gram and Aunt Jenny as they've had to cope with the immensity of this loss in their life. 

More relics found from the fire... 

This picture of our family was also found! 

Another picture found, fire-damaged, but of my Mom, my Gram and myself. 

The grief all of us felt at the loss of this home, what it means for my Gram and Aunt Jenny, and how grateful we are for their lives being spared was shared in many different ways.  One of my cousins organized a GoFundMe account.  They are trying to get a place secured for Gram and Aunt Jenny before winter.  You can find more information about the GoFundMe account here:  Skaarup GoFundMe

Callum Smith, a TV reporter in Moncton, NB with Global News heard about the fire, and reached out to me and asked me if I would do an interview with my Gram.  He didn't realize that I live in Idaho!  I put him in contact with one of my aunts who helped him arrange the TV interview, and my Gram was able to tell her story to the world about how the LORD saved her from this fire.  You can watch the video here: TV interview with Callum Smith

My heart was full of emotion at the loss of my Gram's home of 73 years, and one night I sat down to write about it.  I'll share it with you below... 

The Old House on the Hill

A wooden beacon of love

Standing tall on the winding steep hill

Its stance intact for over one hundred years

With doors always open and its heart always full.

 

This was a home of the extraordinary

As God-fearing and hardworking Fred and Eva

Knit this home together in kindness and love

With generous doses of love and fun

That flowed from its inward being.

The oversized kitchen table with room for just one more

Fed many a hungry belly until they could eat no more

And not just with food for the body

But laughter, love, and great joy

Rich nourishment for the soul.

 

Oh if those walls could only talk once again

And share the memories within

Whispers of late-night conversations

Music played from the living room piano

Steps that ran up and down the stairs

Pitter-patter of furry animals that lived there

Yes, there were the pranks that were played

Jokes that were told, meals that were cooked

All while sharing great fellowship and love.

 

Little toddlers happily played, darting around

With treats on the sly when parents weren’t looking

Mounds of food graced that table

With the kitchen always open, night or day.

And even if one couldn’t eat another bite

Somehow they were pressed to make room for more.

 

Cries of praise and prayer daily lifted their wings

To the lofty heights of heaven’s throne room

From the generous rooms of this home.

While the creaky floors held their own secrets

And walls burst with their knowledge

Joy ran its river out the banks of its doors.

 

Outside great blooms and flowers swung on the porch

With many birds and bees enjoying their bliss,

Apple trees in fall shared their harvest

While wild strawberries in spring were a sweet treat.

Large pastures brought in loads of hay

And baseball games played with cow patty bases

Kept energetic grandkids entertained.

 

Always a bit of excitement when a car sped up the drive

Gram would peer out the large picture window

In the anticipation of a visitor from afar, a friend or a child

Coming to visit and brighten up her day.

 

She knew the cars by their sound in later years

When her eye’s light grew dim with darkness and shadows.

The large chair by the window became her resting place

And she managed the world of her home

With careful scrutiny from that chair.

Nothing missed her gaze and she could spot

A hungry stomach a mile away and insist it get fed.

 

Oh the games that were played at that kitchen table

Skip-Bo and Rummikub the family favorites

Helping hands came often to prepare meals

in later years and to provide company for Gram

As darkness and quiet pervaded her world.

The company of their help a great blessing.

 

The old homestead sat ready for winter

With its large appetite for wood satisfied

Down in the dark basement below.

 

Fall had settled in for a visit while

Winter was just a cold breath away.

 

But suddenly on that beautiful Fall day

the home’s sturdy beams now lay under piles of ash,

as the old house crumbled beneath

the heat of the flames,

its doors never to open again

or its walls to hear the sound of voices

mingled in laughter, praise, and delight.

 

But even though the old home’s remains

lie dark in ashes deep

its voice will ne’er grow silent

and its memories will forever speak

For its grandest work was done in the hearts

Of each one whose footsteps it did greet.

 

The memories made over one hundred years

Live on in sweet places deep within our hearts.

Its grandest days on earth may have ended

But its greatest work will last forever

In the hearts of those who loved and lived here.

 

Indeed, the greatest lesson

this old house aches to share

with all who mourn its loss

is one that we too, all must learn.

 

The lesson is simple yet diligent in its task

It speaks to us today a message,

Listen close and hear its groan

as this old house whispers its last bequest:

 

“Nothing on earth will remain the same

But your soul and its eternity

Will be that which forever will last.”

 

 

Marilyn Moseley, Granddaughter of Fred & Eva Skaarup

I went through some albums I have here with me, and found some old pictures I'd like to share with you of my grandparents and their home. 

A picture of my Gram & Grampie on their 25th wedding anniversary. 

Danielle, with Grampie, and my Mom. 

Danielle's first visit to Canada, she was 18 months old,
standing on the landing of the creaky old steps. 

The porch was filled with beautiful flowers! 

Here is a picture with my dear uncle who passed in a tragic accident 8 years ago, and my Grampie who has been gone for almost 20 years... my Gram busy working in the background... and you can see that table piled with food.  Good times!

From a little child, Danielle loved the piano, here she is trying to play,
while my Mom plays the piano in the living room.  Many happy hours were spent with piano music, as my mother, many of my aunts and cousins play the piano. 

This was the last time I saw my Gram, back in 2018, as we were saying our goodbyes. 
She was sitting in her chair, and it was hard for her to see us all leave, even though we'd had such a wonderful time.  We had plans to be there this summer for her 90th birthday celebration,
but covid changed all that.   

Ryan with Gram, saying goodbye in 2018.

My precious Gram... I miss her so much. 
We are so thankful that the Lord saved her from the fire,
and pray that we can all make it back to visit her someday
when all this covid stuff has settled down. 

Please keep my Gram and Aunt Jenny in your prayers,
this is a difficult time for them, yet the peace from the Lord that passes all understanding
is giving them strength for the days ahead.  

Isaiah 26:3 
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on thee.