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Trials The Bible says, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after
the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (KJV) Thomas Edison invented the microphone, the phonograph, the incandescent light, the
storage battery, talking movies, and more than 1000 other things. December 1914, he had worked for 10 years on a storage battery.
This had greatly strained his finances. This particular evening spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room. Within
minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid for records and film, and other flammable goods were in flames. Fire companies
from eight surrounding towns arrived, but the heat was so intense and the water pressure so low that the attempt to douse
the flames was futile. Everything was destroyed. Edison was 67. With all his assets going up in a whoosh (although the damage
exceeded two million dollars, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought
to be fireproof), would his spirit be broken? The inventor's 24-year-old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father.
He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his 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 she lives.” The next morning, Edison
looked at the ruins and said, “There is 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. Though we may
stumble, forgiveness is only a prayer away! Daily Chronological Bible Reading: Matthew 15; Mark 7
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