Yesterday at midnight, I had an unexpected call from my Mom in Jakarta.
I was finishing my studies and about to go to sleep, but her next few words shocked me, “Our house was almost on fire!”
So here’s the story, witnessed and told by my parents.
Yesterday evening, my Mom decided to bake a cake.
She turned on the oven, which was placed next to the gas cylinder. Earlier that day, the gas cylinder was just replaced to a new one. After thirty minutes of baking, my Dad came home from work. They were all sitting down on the dinner table, which room was located just beside the kitchen, when suddenly there was a loud explosion sound.
My parents rushed to the kitchen, and they found the top of gas cylinder on fire.
It was a big fire, and my Mom panicked. If the fire got into the gas inside the cylinder, there would be another explosion and the fire would, well, literally engulf the house. if the fire got into the oven, there would be another big explosion too. If the fire got to the electricity, well, the fate of my house was indeed sealed.
My driver ran to the bathroom to fetch water, but he panicked greatly and ended up spilling the water everywhere before it even reached the kitchen. My Mom, still panicked, started to pray, consisted of only two words, “God, help.”
My Dad, not losing his mind, told everyone to remain calm and went to the bathroom to get the water. He didn’t run. He walked. Over two attempts of pouring water to the fire while praying, he succeeded.
If it was not God, my parents wouldn’t even be telling me the story.
There are so many things that could go wrong in this story. What if my Mom decided not to bake a cake that day? The gas could explode anytime, even during sleep or even when cooking, which would cause even more serious impacts. What if the gas exploded before my father got home? Another disaster. What if the fire didn’t die after pouring water into it? What if my Dad also panicked?
My Mom and Dad, when recounted the story, reminded me to always pray for safety and protection, for every day for the rest of my life. Because you will ever know what can go wrong.
When asked about the first thing to do tomorrow, my Mom said, “I will buy a fire-extinguisher, and get insurance for the house.”
And I put down the phone realising a modern-day miracle still exists.
