Because if I could, I would gladly like to give it to my brother. If it isn’t one thing, then it’s another. This week Doug’s church, Spring of Light Ministries, suffered a devastating loss when the place of worship was destroyed by fire.
My whole life, Doug has sought out obscure bookstores in the most unlikely of places to build his masterful library. The church walls were lined with thousands of Doug’s books and one of his close friends who also stored his books at the church. All told there were 10-15,000 books in the church. The electronics melted, the pews couches burned, and when the fire melted the overhead water pipe the space flooded.
The books are not a total loss, but they are Doug’s passion. It is very sad to know that both the object of his passion and vision of his church went up in flames this week. Of course, Doug is resilient and disconcertingly thankful.
I came across this excerpt from a post that Doug made when discussing his kidney issues:
Instead of continually wondering why our lives are not better, we might cultivate a mindset that wonders why our lives have been so good, so blessed, and so overwhelmingly wonderful. In so doing, we might begin to acknowledge the treasures that surround. Instead of complaining for slow service at restaurant, we might thank the server for their time and effort in meeting our need. We might thank the clerk in the store, we might thank the boss who employs us, we might thank the officer who protects us, we might thank the teachers who instruct us, we might look around with fresh eyes at the innumerable blessings surrounding us each moment.
And most of all, we might thank God who owes us nothing and yet blesses us continually whether we are good and evil.
I am confident that Doug will take this in stride. He won’t make a big deal out of it. I have to. Drop him a note. Send him a book. Pause. Take a moment out of your day to think about all of the good in your life.
Jeremy,
I am so sorry for this loss. I am saddened for all the members of your congregation and mostly for your brother.
He will be in our prayers and thanks for the reminder to count our blessings. I am convinced that we each need to be like Job, and be grateful and steadfast, no matter what comes our way.
That’s cool man. Thanks for the post.
[...] other day I posted about Spring of Light burning. As I write, a fire restoration group is in the building trying to preserve the books and any [...]
[...] Friday, Doug Floyd (the brother of my college pal, Jeremy) made an awful discovery. His small church had caught fire. Inside the church he stored thousands and thousands of his [...]