Penny wise and dollar foolish.

I'm a big, ol' stupid, careless idiot and God saved my family from my carelessness last night.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... It is dreary here, cloudy and starting to get into the rainy season which I hate. I burn candles so that the light and the fragrance stimulate my brain and I feel better about this weather. Yesterday I had some candles burning in various rooms and last evening I had a meeting to go to with a friend. I went around the house before I left and extinguished all the flames, or so I thought.

We have a small powder room downstairs and we keep the door closed most of the time to keep Boo (who's 2) out of the cupboard and the TP roll.

I left a 3-wick candle burning there on a plate on the bathroom counter. It was a short 3-wick only about an inch tall, and I am so dang frugal I couldn't possible just throw it away when it was that short, no, I have to go burn the life out of it, until there is just no wick left. (Please just ignore my personal berating, there is a point to all this.)

So, I left the house forgetting that that particular candle was still going. The door was closed, and I forgot. (NEVER, NEVER BURN A CANDLE THAT YOU CAN NOT SEE AT ALL TIMES!!)

When I came home from my meeting, the house was quiet, everyone was asleep and the lights were all out, the candle was still burning peacefully in the powder room with the door closed. I did not, for some reason, open the door when I went to bed as I usually do, but only set my things down and went to bed myself.

Sometime in the night, the candle got down to the bottom, lit the paper label on fire, burned the wax, broke the plate, spit hot wax all over the tile and burned a hole in the counter top.

God spared us! This could have caused the whole house to go up in flames as we slept, and it would have been my fault!!

I can not believe how stupid I was. I feel like pitching all the wax- burning items and all lighters and matches in the trash. I am so ashamed at my carelessness, I can't get over it.

I have no idea how much a new counter top is going to cost us. At least, thankfully, it wasn't a whole bathroom. And thank God I'm not trying to figure out what the life of one of my babies is worth.

Please learn from my costly lesson.
NEVER, NEVER BURN A CANDLE THAT YOU CAN NOT SEE AT ALL TIMES!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Everyone makes mistakes! I hear where you are coming from, but you are precious as a person and should not be so hard on yourself! Just thank God that he spared the worst and pray that you will have the insight not to let this happen again. Forgive yourself and all else will be forgiven!

Love ya! :)
Anonymous said…
Precious as a person? Gee, where did I go to school! I meant you "are a precious person"
MaryLu said…
Thanks, my friend. Now if I can just get rid of this sick feeling in my stomach, I'll be just fine.
Meridith said…
YIKES!!! PTL it is just the bathroom counter!!!

I found your blog on LWG Blogroll as I'm looking to connect with other Christian women in the blog world...

Off to read more of your blog...
fawndear said…
So glad that you were blessed and it wasn't worse than a scorched counter-top. Someone's looking out for you!
Me said…
Yikes! Praise God it ended as it did. I am so glad that you can pray for me, even a continent away. I just asked Laura for prayer and I ask you too. We are drawing near a deployment and I have been unashamedly family centered lately (thus my woefully neglected blog). Please lift us in prayer whenever we come to mind. We are going to be needing it over the next few weeks. I thank God for my wonderful web friends who understand this boat I am in and can lift me in prayer, no matter where they are!
Glad that you are all safe. Love ya.
Totallyscrappy said…
God is a great guy, isn't He? :)
Hopefully that feeling in the pit of your stomach will subside. Keep praising His name.
Back when I was first married I lit a candle and left the room. When I returned the cat didn't look right. She only had whiskers on one side of her sweet face and her nose was scorched. That was the end of candles in our house. I love the smell, but...

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