Day 3,973

The Celebration of Lives

Our sweet friend, Sondra (pictured middle), passed away a few weeks ago and on Wednesday, I was able to attend her memorial service. It was a day of celebration as we remembered a woman who’s 78 years were filled with a heart that rejoiced in serving the Lord, even in spite of the many physical ailments she faced throughout the entirety of her life. She was my first Florida “grandmother,” so often reminding me of my own and teaching me early on in my faith what it looked like to be intentional with those that God places into our lives. She opened her home up to our newlywed small group and taught us—mainly without words—hospitality, homemaking, loyalty, longsuffering, contentment, and consideration of others. She was an early reader of this now-decade-long blog and was rare to miss a day of our adventures. We will miss her friendship, her kindness, her particular thoughtfulness, and the smile that everyone quickly came to love. 

Thank you for everything, Sondra. I love you friend. 

Little did I know however, that as I sat at the funeral of a dear friend, my own home was quickly turning into a very dangerous situation. And as I walked through the door upon arriving home, I was both relieved everyone was alive and urgent to attend to the matter. 

Before leaving home, I didn’t tell our babysitter that our oven is run on gas. What we now enjoy as an unexpected perk upon buying The Cottage, we also realize is potentially incredibly dangerous if not used properly. 

At lunch time, one of the kids must have scooted up against the knobs and knocked the gas line to two burners on. Without the ignition of the flame, the gas continued to pour out of the burners. Intentionally, gas companies add an awful smelling sulfur compound to the gas so that if there’s a leak, you’ll know by the smell. BUT if you’ve never had gas before (like our babysitter and us prior to this home), you’d never correlate the smell with a gas leak. Instead, she was left with this awful smell stinking up the house for an hour and never being able to pinpoint the source. It got so bad, that she tried lighting a candle to get some momentary relief from the stench. But PRAISE GOD, the lighter didn’t work and she gave up on it. 

When I walked into my home that afternoon, the overwhelming smell led me to first call our firefighter friend who told us to leave the home immediately and call 911. 

Thankfully, nobody was showing symptoms of poisoning and our home was cleared of gas. 

I did end up taking Molly to the hospital, just to be sure of some funky readings she received from the firemen. The doctor was ready to assure us that she was totally fine. 

It was a day I won’t quickly forget. The Lord’s hand in protecting my children and dear friend is so evident and has given me yet another reason to trust Him even in—especially in—the normal, mundane moments of life. The moments where life really lives. 



I lay here more and more grateful for the gifts God has so graciously given me in the lives of my children and the smiles of my friends. I pray I would cherish them more and more and grow in urgency of Gospel proclamation because oh, how delicate life on this earth really is. 

PSA: if your home runs on gas, get a detector and be sure to tell anyone staying in the home or babysitting while you’re gone what to do in the case of a potential gas leak. Now, I know. I didn’t before.