All Australians are in a state of shock as we have watched the news flashes of burning homes and the stories of death and destruction on TV. The death toll of the Victorian Bushfires stands at 181 with over 1831 homes burnt to the ground.

Many children have lost their fathers who stayed behind to save their homes. Some fathers have lost their wives and children and it has been hard not to shed a tear at the tragic stories.

In the middle of the disaster there have been some amazing stories of miracle escapes.

"Just listen to me!
Tell my wife and children I love them.
I can't hang on much longer".

Jason Lynn - Miracle bushfire survivor

Jason used what he thought was his last breath to tell his wife and children that he loved them. After hearing of his miraculous escape from bushfire, I rang Jason to get his story first hand.

Still feeling weak from the effects of the fire and smoke inhalation Jason's voice was croaky and it was a real effort for him to tell me his story:

We got word of the fire coming and I told my wife and children to drive to safety. I told them I would stay and fight the fire because I wanted them all to have a home to come back to.

Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of the flames and the sound of the fire. It was like being in a hurricane of flames. The sky was filled with flames. Pretty soon the house caught on fire and the gas tanks exploded. I sought safety on the garage roof, but then something in the garage exploded.

Jason paused before continuing

Not only did we lose our home and garage but I lost all the tools my dad gave me when he died along with a speedway racing car I was working on.

I ran towards the dam 60 metres away but got tangled in a wire fence. By this stage I was crawling along the ground. The fire had sucked out all the oxygen from the air and at times I felt I was breathing red hot smoke. The doctors told me the inside of my lungs were burnt. I lay in the dam in the wet mud, trying to breathe. I ended up talking to my pastor, Shane Lepp from the Kinglake AOG church who talked to me for two hours while I went in and out of consciousness. Shane told me later that he was praying for me as he heard me gasping for air. Burning tree branches and red hot embers were falling into the dam, blown by the hurricane like winds from 80 metres away.

The volunteer firefighters braved the fire about two hours later to rescue me. I'm thankful to them and to Ps Shane, but it was definitely a miracle from God as many times I felt like giving up the fire was so intense.

Jason Lynn was preserved but Adrian & Mirabelle Brown and their three children who were friends from church perished in the blaze.

Thoughts of the tragedy and great sadness of the bushfires were going through my mind as my wife and I sang at the funeral of a dear friend of the Fatherhood Foundation, Tony Taylor.

Tony was a great friend of the fatherless and role model for tens of thousands of children as a devoted father of four and greatly loved PE teacher at Keira Boys and Figtree High Schools.

Tragedy strikes us all from time to time. Death is an unwelcome visitor that we must all entertain sooner or later. Life at times seems so unfair. One of the fathers of the men's movement, Edwin Louis Cole, author of 'Maximised Manhood' shared one of the most unpopular principals of life, 'the innocent suffer for the guilty'. This truth has been proven many times over the last seven days.

Many times all we are left with are questions, but the old hymn sung at Tony's funeral, by request of the family, points to the one who has the answers. The words are included in Dad's Prayer and we hope that others find them inspirational too.

In the midst of the fiery tragedy come stories that give us hope. Jason's story gives us hope and his words to his wife and children is a message that bears repeating, fire or no fire.

Lovework

Life is a privilege, love is a mystery, but you don't need a bushfire to inspire you to tell your family that you love them.

Please give to the Bushfire Appeal and repeat Jason's words to the ones you love.

Yours for more Words of Love
Warwick Marsh

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