“Have we not reason to be filled with gratitude, regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves?”  (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

Although waking to my home in flames was a frightening experience, it was gratitude that I felt most as I stood that morning watching my home being destroyed.

I wasn’t thinking about toys, photographs, videos, furniture and other items that would be lost.

 I wasn’t worrying that my family was suddenly homeless.

 I was thinking of how grateful I was that I had woken before the fire traveled down to where my children were asleep. 

I wondered to myself, “If I had’t woken up, would my boys have woken in time to escape?” I questioned whether they would have gotten out safely or if they would have been too panicked to know what to do.

 I was thinking of how grateful I was that, despite my feelings of shock, I was able to think clearly and methodically to get my children out safely.

I was thinking of how grateful I was that both my daughter and sister, who had bedrooms upstairs close to where the fire ignited, were out of town that morning.

Although the flames were extinguished just before reaching their bedrooms, their rooms were immersed in smoke and soot. I questioned, “If they had been there, would they have been able to escape through the smoke and the heat?” I  asked myself, “Would they have even woken, or would they have been suffocated by the smoke just as the birds had been?”

The thoughts of what “could have” happened were horrifying, but I chose to focus on the blessings for what was most important – my family was safe!