Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, are both burning to the ground.
I’m… pretty much speechless, right now. My Ma came out last night and told us what was happening, and told us to pray. We prayed. For the rain to help, for the winds to die. But the rain didn’t stop it, and the winds took hold.
This is my home.
These places are not far away from us at all.
My family and I went to Pigeon Forge not even a year ago. We were hoping to go to Gatlinburg, too, because Ma and Dad took the older kids before Kody and I were born. It was always a place we wanted to go again, with the old towns, with the people.
And now it’s burning to ashes.
All of the photos here are not mine, I found them on Facebook.
Tennessee is a beautiful, blessed state. It is my home. Seeing these fires destroy homes, people’s homes… Destroying places that means to much to us, that hold so much worth and memories… It is a mess.
We’re all heartbroken. These beautiful mountains are turning to embers. People’s HOMES, their lives, are being smothered… It is terrifying. It is real. It’s hard to try and find words. All we can do is get on our knees and pray, because our eyes are blurred with tears, and we don’t know what exactly is happening. Or why. But past the smoke, past the burning flames, past it all- there’s Yeshua.
Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
We pray for our state, for our people. We pray for the firemen and police and every soul who is working to put these fires out and protect us. I pray for their protection, that through them, and by a miracle, Yahweh can calm these raging fires.
We watched a video of a man and a young man coming off the mountain. It was a very jarring video, but it will stay with me. I saw two men who were facing on, doing what they had to do- and at one point, the man said “Lord, please let us get off this mountain”. That packed volumes for me. Through it all, God still hears our voices. Through the blazing heat and flames- Yeshua is with us.
Matthew 16:18 – And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
We are all God’s church- and we can pray. We can lift up our voices. I know that when the recent fires in North Carolina and West Virginia were going on, I was praying. I have family members that I love in both states. But here… The fire is destroying my home. It strikes sparks inside a person. To see your home like this… To see the people around you speechless and heartbroken.
These fires were started. I don’t know all about if there were more than one person starting all of them, or not, but here is an article. Southeast Tennessee man charged with setting fire.
https://www.facebook.com/NC5NickBeres/photos/pcb.10153899160741640/10153899134266640/?type=3&theater
This is Satan, in the end. Isn’t it? The Darkness coming to destroy us, setting our land on fire through evil, wrong people… He’s attacking us. He is destroying the beauty Yeshua has created. But I know that Yahweh is GOD. The Lord holds us who love Him in His hands. Yahweh is our deliverer. A fortress, a shield. This is no different. It is terrifying, but Elohim will give us His strength and courage. We can keep going. Satan will not win this. I know that Tennessee has some fighters in her, and many of us know to whom we belong.
We may not be able to see, our hearts may be broken and the smoke too thick, but, the Lord is GOD, and He holds us.
Isaiah 4:5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
Pray for Tennessee, please. We can find strength in the Lord. But I don’t know what battles are going on right now, in the spirit realm. With Satan trying to destroy and roaming the earth… But Yahweh is our Leader.
Psalms 66:12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
YHVH bless.
-Angela
In my prayers.
Thank you. ♥
Angela, when I was really little, I was listening to an episode in one of my favorite Audiobooks, Jonathan Park. In the story, the family was plagued with a massive flood that destroyed everything they had. They lost EVERYTHING. But that night when they were evacuating, they met this other family who had just become Christians. Lots of bad things happened, but it saved them from the most horrible destruction… Satan.
My point is, you never know you need God when you have everything to keep you warm, happy and safe. But when you lose it all, you can REALLY see what remains. My guess is, the Lord is putting this trial here to TEST EVERYONES FAITH. Don’t despair. “Give thanks in all circumstances”. The LORD will deliver y’all.
My prayers will be with you, Angela!
– Allie Taylor
That is a very insightful story, Allie… You’re very right! 🙂 The LORD tested the Israelites in the wilderness… He was their pillar of smoke and fire… God has us. 🙂 Thank you SO much Allie… Very good words. ♥
Of course, Angela. Have faith!
Oh my word. We used to go to Townsend TN for vacation all the time… this is so sad.
It is a beautiful place… Amen. :'(
I will…..
Thank you so, so much…
Oh man, I’ve been to Pigeon Forge before, and this is so hard for me to believe. Wow. I’m definitely praying. I know God will protect you and your family. <3
Thank you Victoria. You’re right. ♥
The fires in TN are really bad. It’s so sad. :'( I was in Pigeon Forge only last month (live only a couple hours from there). It’s so terrible. God bless those poor people and all the firefighters <3
Wow … that’s so awful! I know what’s it’s like to fear for my home because of fires … we have several wildfires every summer, but never on this scale, obviously. We’ve yet to be burned down, but we’ve had to leave our home before … it’s pretty scary. I’ll be praying.
We’re a few hours away… It didn’t touch us, praise God, but we see these people having to evacuate… I think the number was 14,000… We were having a drought here, and the fires being set… Lord help us.
Thanks so much, Kellyn. ♥
In my prayers. Tennessee is a beautiful place. It’s been my dream to go To Gatlinburg. I think it was 2 people who started the fire. God Bless the Fire fighters and Peole who are losing their home.
– Hannah❤️
They’ve said they’ve caught one man, and then today I saw they arrested two more… I do not know all the details, but my Ma says we’re fairly certain it is only two men who we know for sure… It’s awful.
Amen. ♥
That’s so so sad. It sounds really scary too. I have tears in my eyes from reading this post. I know how awful wind is to the fire. My dad is a firefighter, and he was called to a fire not too long ago that lasted all day. To me, that’s a looong time. I can’t imagine having cities on fire. That’s so sad.
It seems that they’ve kinda got it out…. I know that Gatlinburg was mostly shut down right now, save some roads, but the rain… The rain was a God given blessing, but we also got windows and actually some tornadoe… So it was definitely scary, something Satan was trying to break us down with… But God is strong. ♥ Already, people are forming up drop-offs to give food and blankets and all kinds of stuff to help…
Thank your Dad for me please- the firefighters are exhausted, but have done amazing, and we’re all thankful for them. It is crazy what they have had to do…
That’s good I guess. :/ That’s good that you had rain! Our family has been praying about it when we can remember. Yikes… That’s good though. Yes. 🙂 Fire fighters are amazing.
Here’s for hoping the fires will be contained very soon. Being from California, I’m all too familiar with the devastation these fires cause.
God is with us… I’ve never seen anything like this, and not here, but God’s in control.
Angela, did you hear about the remaining page of a mostly-burnt Bible that was found under a bench? Gave me chills <3
YES. That was absolutely so powerful… I love how one of the verses was ‘Blow ye the trumpets’… Was it this link, right? 🙂 http://www.wymt.com/content/news/Dollywood-employee-finds-lone-Bible-page-while-cleaning-up-after-fire-403653886.html
Yep, that’s it! 🙂 A friend saw it on FB and told my Mom. They didn’t know the reference though, so Mom and Dad hunted through the minor prophets to find it. 😉
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