The following is just one of
Bill and Teddy Rogers’ personal testimonies
describing how God answered our prayers but not always in the way we
had expected.
James 4:2 (NLT) says “You
don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.”
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
It was mid-afternoon on June 11, 1997. Since my husband Bill would
be coming home from work in a little while, I started to prepare our
evening meal. I wanted to deep-fry some catfish, so I put a pot
filled with grease on the stove and turned on the burner.
While the grease was heating, I went down in the basement and put a
load of clothes in the washer. This only took me about five minutes.
THE FIRE IN OUR KITCHEN!
When I came back up the stairs, I was horrified because the window
curtains next to the stove were on fire. I immediately went into a
state of panic.
We had a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall but I could not
remember how to use it. The only thing I could think of was to call
on the name of Jesus. So I ran around shouting, “Jesus, Jesus, Oh
Jesus!”
I ran out on the front porch and
was about to yell “FIRE”
when I saw my neighbor (2 doors up the street) sitting on his front
porch. Since he has had several strokes and a heart attack, I did
not yell “FIRE”
because I did not want to frighten him into having another one.
I ran back into the house and threw some water on the fire. I had
forgotten that you are not supposed to throw water on a grease fire.
The fire immediately blazed even higher, quickly spreading throughout
the kitchen and thick black smoke began to fill the house.
By this time, I was really scared and I called on Jesus some more.
After what seemed like an eternity, it seemed as if He (Jesus) said,
“Teddy, I’ve heard you. Now call 911!” So I did! The 911
operator told me to get out of the house, so I went out and sat on
the front porch like nothing was happening.
THE FIRE TRUCKS AND AMBULANCE
ARRIVE
Thank God, the firemen responded quickly. In practically no time at
all, they knocked a 15 foot hole in our north (exterior) wall, tore
down the ceiling in the kitchen and using foam extinguishers, put out
the fire.
Then, they brought in a big fan that sucked most of the smoke out of
the house. And, to my surprise, they even apologized to me for
having to do so much damage to our house.
I am so grateful to God that the fire did not explode in my face when
I threw water on it and that I was not trapped down in the basement.
I did not call Bill at work because I did not want him driving fast
and maybe having an accident in his hurry to get home. I prayed that
the fire trucks and the ambulance would be gone before he arrived.
Thank God, my prayer was answered.
BILL ARRIVED HOME
When Bill finally arrived, I met him on the front porch and broke it
to him gently. We were both so thankful that I was OK. As soon as
he saw what had happened, Bill called the insurance company. Within
two hours, they sent a crew to put plywood over the big hole in the
side of our house and secured the property.
THANKING GOD FOR HIS MERCY AND
GRACE!
I cried most of that first night. I could not stop thinking about
what could have been had it not been for the mercy and grace of God.
The next day, we remembered our prayer from about a week earlier. We
had been sitting in the kitchen doing our morning Bible Study.
Afterward, we talked about possibly refinishing our kitchen cabinets
while the weather was warm and we could have the windows open.
We prayed and asked God to bless us with some new appliances and
carpeting. We also prayed that the summer would be cool so we would
not have to run our air conditioner until late summer. Finally, we
prayed for some opportunities to go fishing.
The insurance company put us in a very nice, furnished apartment at
Whispering Lake and we had opportunities to go fishing all summer
long.
Since the electricity and gas in our house had been disconnected, we
never did turn on the air conditioner. We spent six and one-half
months away from our home and went through some very frustrating
times with the contractors.
However, Romans 8:28
says that all things work together for the good of those who love the
Lord. Hallelujah! What the devil meant for evil, God turned into a
major blessing for us and we give Him all the praise.
HOW GOD BLESSED US
After all was said and done, we had
a kitchen complete with all new appliances, cabinets and
counter-tops, and many other items we didn’t even ask for.
And, because of the smoke damage,
our entire downstairs and part of the upstairs was cleaned and
painted and the floors and stairs covered with beautiful new
carpeting.
WHAT A WONDERFUL GOD WE SERVE!
We received far more than we had even asked for. Hallelujah! Ain’t
God Good!
End
Of Post