Response to Literature

I recently re-read the epilogue to More Precious Than Gold, the story of a terrible house fire that left young Becky Vaughn permanently disabled and disfigured. Several things stuck out to me as I read of her ordeal. One was the magnitude of her injuries: she had over 57 surgeries and 171 blood transfusions at the time of the writing. Another was her awareness (as an impressionable teenager) that she was not physically attractive to other people and her knowledge that other people would stare at her. At one point in her narrative, she says, “I’m only telling you this because I’m writing it and you’re not looking at me.” Throughout her story Becky remained thankful that God spared her life. Although she was “not sure what [her] story will be yet,” she recognizes that “God has been very good” to her. The poignant statement “I’m glad I’m alive” at the end of her piece is a gut-punch of an ending and a reminder of “what is really important in life.”