Mrs Bo Roloson
Pastor's Wife
Moorhead, MN
Thirteen and a half years ago, husband and I brought our five young children to Moorhead,
Minnesota to take a church. And it has been an amazing journey. Like any trip, there have
been many ups and downs. But nothing was to compare to the events that unfolded the morning of June 30, 2014.
The night before, we had a meeting after church, trying to resolve a problem with a church member. Unfortunately, it did not end on a good note. Sorry heart was heavy as I
went to bed that night. The next thing I
remember is daughter screaming, "Dad, the church is on fire." I cannot describe to you the horror that I felt as I jumped out of bed, completely tingling from head to toe, hardly
able to walk. It was 5:30 am. We quickly went
upstairs to see the building was indeed on fire.
It looked like it was in the attic on the other side of the building. The church was formerly a motel, built in the 1950's. Being "L" shaped,
the auditorium was at one end of the building and the parsonage was at the other. Initially, we thought this wouldn't be too severe of a fire, but we still acted quickly. Everyone was
evacuated from the house and hustled into the
van, along with our dog. We parked in the lot
just next door, so we could wait and watch to see what would happen. husband
instructed us to stay, as he intended to go back
and observe from the front yard of the church.
This was our view.
We all tried to keep our spirit on a good tone.
But our hearts sank as children and I watched the flames come closer and closer to our house. When the flames reached our home, I could not help but silently sob. I dare not even look back at my children, for they were crying, too. After what seemed like an
eternity, my husband came back. I fully expected him to be upset, but he came to reassure us that everything was going to fine. We decided to take our dog, Gospel, to the kennel, as we had no place to keep him. I left
with the children and decided to drive in front
of the church to gage the damage. To all of our amazement, what we thought we would
see and what we actually saw were not the same.
From our view, which was behind the building, our house had burned. We watched as the
flames moved and was directly in front of the
house. There was not doubt in our minds that our house was on fire. But what really happened was that the flames were shooting higher and wider, but only on the other side of
the building. We definitely had severe smoke
damage in our home but no fire damage. As I was driving, my children's spirits had changed. There was hope, now. But I was
very shakened. As I was trying to grasp what had transpired, I heard the Lord speak very clearly, 'Your view is not always what reality is. Sometimes, you have to trust me, despite what you see." I felt so comforted and knew that we would be fine. To say that the Lord has
provided for us would be an
UNDERSTATEMENT!! That afternoon, we were placed in a hotel for two nights. The lady who ran the kennel kept Gospel for two weeks
without charging us. The day of the fire, our
church members raised enough money to pay
for the rent in a fully furnished apartment, where the year's lease was deferred due to our circumstances. It was amazing.
First, I know that the Lord is still working on me,
in me, and through me. Philippians 1:6 -
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" That is
an amazing word: confident. I am confident that God wants to use me. I have no reason to worry. I just have to be willing to be used.
Secondarily, I have to realize that I can't even begin to think that I know what God is doing. Isaiah 55:8 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." The whole time that I thought that the house was burning, it was the church
burning. And when I realized how wrong I was,
this verse came to mind. God has a specific
plan and purpose. I'd be foolish to try to understand everything. I just have to trust that He knows what He is doing.
Thirdly, I had to realize that I had to step outside my comfort zone. Isaiah 40:29 - "He
giveth power to the faint; and to them that
have no might He increaseth strength." I went
from having everything in order to NO order. I
didn't have a church building, house was
black from top to bottom, schedule was all over the place... my normal ceased to exist. Nothing made sense. And yet, I knew everything made sense. I had to live IN the chaos, with me not having everything control.
That was rw new normal. Many times, I was just too tired to go on. I didn't want to know about another thing that was stolen or that was
ruined by smoke. I didn't want to hear about change. But I knew this was where God
wanted me to be, as this allows me the opportunity to trust in Him. It wasn't by our
strength but by His.
Although we are still in the building process, we are excited. The work is long and arduous, but we can see all the potential that the Lord is
affording us. As my husband stated, the Lord is working on this church - the people, who are
the church, as well as the physical building. I couldn't have imagined what God's plans were for us, but I am glad that He knows.
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