Quite a statement . . . for an atheist.

The sound of the barking had aroused a neighbor who called the local voluntary fire department. As Jerry pulled his beloved wife and children out into the fresh air in front of the house, he could feel the heat of naked flames as they licked through the kitchen window behind him like a huge monster still reaching to devour its prey. He rolled his wife onto her stomach, put her limp arms under her head and began to press firmly on her back. Suddenly, she began to cough. Jerry whispered,

"Thank God!" He turned his attention to his two terrified children beside him. Johnny was conscious. His face was white and he and was shaking with fear. But by the light from the flames he could see that Elizabeth had stopped breathing and had turned a ghostly blue. In a panic he grabbed her tiny and limp body, turned her over and with both hands pressed on her limp body again and again. Tears streamed down his face as he prayed,

"Please God. Please. Let her live! Oh God don't let this child die . . . I’ll do anything You want. Please!"

He kept pressing for what seemed like an eternity, but it was no use. Elizabeth wasn't responding. He picked her up and with trembling hands held her close to his chest and began to weep uncontrollably.

Suddenly, he felt strange. It was as though someone had touched him on his shoulder. He looked around, then down at Connie. She was still lying unconscious, but breathing normally. He looked behind him again. It was bizarre. No one was there. His baby lay lifeless in his arms, yet the fear had left and there was that same unmistakable peace that he once felt the time he entered the von Ludendorff home in Poland so long ago.

Then Jerry heard themost wonderful sound. A tiny gagging noise came from his child. Tears poured from his eyes, this time for a different reason. He squeezed his little girl tightly in his arms, looked to the heavens and whispered,

"Thank you God. Thank you God." Quite a statement . . . for an atheist.

To be continued...