The Value of Disaster

The Value of Disaster

 

For 10 years Thomas Edison attempted to invent a storage battery. His efforts greatly strained his finances, then in December 1914, nearly brought him to ruin when a spontaneous combustion broke out in his film room. Within minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid fluid for records and film, and other flammable goods were ablaze. Though fire departments came from eight surrounding towns, the intense heat and low water pressure made attempts to douse the flames futile. Everything was destroyed. While the damage exceeded $2 million the concrete buildings thought to be fireproof, were insured for barely a tenth of the amount.

 

The inventor's 24-year old son Charles searched frantically for his father, afraid that his spirit would be broken. Charles finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, white hair blowing in the wind. "My heart ached for him," said Charles. "He was 67 - no longer a young man - and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, "Charles where's your mother?" When I told him I didn't know, he said, "Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as his lives." The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is a great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew." Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph."

 

With each new day, we have the opportunity to start again, to start fresh – no matter what our circumstances. Let the Lord show you how to salvage hope from debris. You never know what joys are ahead. We also glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation produces perseverance. Romans 5:3 NKJV