top of page

Sanftmut

Stories

Search
Writer's pictureJanet Gesme

Barbara



Three times. Three times we had to evacuate our home in Black Butte Ranch due to forest fires. The first time, we took absolutely everything of value with us. We filled three cars full and fled to a safe location. The second time, we took only artwork and documents, and the third time we just left. I had learned that stuff is just that. In the end, it isn’t really all that valuable. Twenty-five years later, I ended up in the middle of the 2018 Paradise Camp fire, in which more that eighty-five people lost their lives.

My mother was in a rehab facility at the time, recovering from a fractured pelvis. I was staying in her apartment in Paradise, preparing to move her back home. Things did not go as planned. The morning I was supposed to go get her I woke up to flames outside the apartment complex. When I opened the door, I saw residents in wheelchairs being evacuated. The employees told me that there was fire everywhere and I had to leave immediately. Adrenaline kicked in and I headed straight for my car.


View from the window when I woke up

By the time I got to the parking lot, the road was jam packed with cars barely moving. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I called my husband, Bob, and told him that I was in my car, and everything was on fire all around me. I told him that I loved him and that I was not going to make it out of this fire. I was inching along with the windows up and windshield wipers on to knock burning embers off the windshield: one of countless vehicles trying to move forward, surrounded by scorching flames. I could see fire jumping from treetop to treetop. It was in front of me, behind me, over me and next to me on both sides. I was driving over burning branches. How my tires did not explode I

will never know. Hearing my husband’s

voice on the phone, I knew this was goodbye.


But I was wrong. The Holy Spirit was working through Bob, who knows the roads of Paradise well. His calm voice instructed me to turn on the car’s GPS. I had never used it before. He told me to watch the map and tell him which streets I could see on it. Bob was more than 350 miles away at our home in Bend, Oregon. He turned on his iPad and tuned in to the Paradise Police, his computer was monitoring the Paradise fire, and he had my computer on to the news feeds covering the fire. Using all of this information, in a calm, positive, encouraging voice, he led me to safety. The 25 miles from Paradise to Chico, which should take no more than 30 minutes, took two and a half hours. But with his quiet, assuring voice directing me, I was able to locate my mother where she had been evacuated from her rehab center.


Barbara with her mother, Shirley

Later, I found out there were 26,000 cars trying to get out of Paradise that day. My mother and I were among the lucky ones. There is no doubt in my mind: we were like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Jesus was with us.

At the end of this ordeal, I came out of the fire and knew that God has a plan for my life. And life is what matters. I was given the gift of more time to share God’s love and be a witness to His loving kindness and saving grace.


“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

14 views0 comments
Writer's pictureJanet Gesme

Updated: Dec 16, 2021

Cheryl Vandiver


I vividly remember sitting on the ground under the clothesline on a bright April day in 2020. The sky was brilliant blue and beautifully clear. The air was crisp and cool. The grass was alive. All of nature was practically bursting with the joy of spring. I, however, was crying. After years of self-induced money madness, I was once again at the end of my resources. I had maxed out my credit cards—again, and the minimum payments were all I felt I could afford to pay.

The debt I owed felt overwhelming. I had been here before, but this time was different. The septic system was shot and had to be replaced. And my credit was already maxed. I had no more “temporary” fixes to employ. And on top of this, it was 2020: the year of COVID-19. Overnight my source of income was threatened. I felt the weight of the instability I had created for myself. Despair and disgust overwhelmed me as I thought about the financial chaos I had created. I was angry with myself for the choices I had made that put me in this position. I was too embarrassed to ask my family for help…again. I knew something had to change. I absolutely could not continue the same pattern of self-sabotage and indebtedness that was consuming my life.

In desperation I prayed. Right there under the clothesline I confessed my shame and humiliation, my foolish heart, and my habitually poor choices. I begged God to grant me wisdom and to speak clearly enough that even I would hear and understand what to do next. I truly was asking for a way out—out of the dark cycles that kept me feeling inadequate and broke. God heard my desperation and sent help in two ways: First, the miracle of an unexpected, ready-made offer to buy my house. Second, the gift of a confident financial coach who was able to convince me that if I were truly ready to change, my story would never be the same. With my coach's guidance I would develop a new way of viewing money and begin the process of change to no longer repeat the patterns that had led to my constant lack.

Over the course of a very painful year of discovery wrestling pride and inertia, God's answers to my prayer allowed me to completely change the trajectory of my finances for life! Now I am experiencing a joy and freedom regarding finances I never dreamt possible. This year I am practically bursting with the joy of spring! I feel so much gratitude for the newness of life that God has given me and now feel able to join with nature in celebrating the bounty of His extravagant provision!


The biggest surprise over this past year of transformation has been the awakening of care and concern for others. I have freedom now to think about and actually see others. I long to let everyone know freedom from fear and insufficiency when they consider their personal finances. Following God's wisdom and direction, I am now in a position to offer hope as a financial coach.

I feel a burning passion to help others learn to view their resources in a way that brings life and gratitude not only for themselves, but also for others. It is my hope that together with all of nature we can proclaim the beauty of God’s good and bountiful provision now and forever.



Little did I realize when I was sitting on the ground under the clothesline with a broken heart on that April day it would be such a pivotal moment in my life and that the brokenness I felt was actually an invitation to step into the biggest adventure yet!


Cheryl Vandiver

PIM Financial Coaching

42 views0 comments
bottom of page