Sunday, January 24, 1982. I was just a kid, but I remember this day clearly. It was 5:45 in the morning, when I heard a loud sound in the hallway. I realized it was an alarm. So, I got out of bed to tell my sister to stop playing around with her alarm so early in the morning. Well, when I realized that it WASN’T her alarm, but the smoke detector, I know something was up.
I ran down the hall and woke up the rest of my family. (yes, I was the first one up). Suddenly, smoke began to fill the upstairs of the house. (my Uncle was asleep in the basement where the fire started) We were yelling down the stairs to try to wake him up, but he wasn’t responding. I remember my Dad taking an ax, and going outside to try and break the window to get my Uncle out of the basement. Moments later, my Uncle came running up the stairs, out of the basement. We all went outside, and joined my mom in the car in the street. I plainly remember her crying as the reflection from the flames of the house light up the backyard. But, the most important thing was that we all made it out safely, including my Uncle Rick.
Hours later, we were all gathered around the table at the neighbor’s house recalling what happened, when my Uncle Rick said, “Who came and got me form the basement?” We all said, “you came up by yourself”. He looked at us, puzzled, and said again, “Seriously, who grabbed me?” We again said, “nobody”. He said it a third time, “Who grabbed my arm? Someone grabbed my arm and lead me out of the basement, and up the stairs. Who grabbed me?” We all looked at each other and realized that he wasn’t kidding. We are 100% confident that God sent an Angel to my Uncle Rick, grabbed his hand, and lead him up the stairs to safety.
Hebrews 13:2 tells us, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Keep YOUR eyes open for who God puts in YOUR path today, too!
-Tommy