Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. - John 14:27.
The evening of Dec. 5, 1997, I came home from the mall with my daughter, only to find I could not get up our street as it was blocked with fire engines and police cars. As I got out of my car I was told it was my house that was on fire. I frantically ran up the street, only to find a completely gutted house. My husband was lying on a stretcher and in the process of being lifted into an ambulance, and my 3-year-old grandson was being transported to the hospital by helicopter. One of my neighbors took me to the hospital where I learned my husband was going to be okay, but my precious little grandson had passed away.
The next day my son told me he had been by the house and not everything on the lower level had been destroyed. We went over to see if there was anything we could salvage. Many people were there with my son helping to bring things out of the ruins. On the front lawn were a number of my daughter's belongings. She went over to look through them and found her Bible lying open to this scripture, which just happened to be highlighted in yellow marker. The book was wet, and charred around the edges, but it was readable. She rushed over to show it to me.
I felt my Heavenly Father had not forsaken us, but that He would help us through this terrible tragedy. We felt His sweet peace and knew that we need not be afraid. I have reflected on this scripture many times since that day.