The Taylor family of Springtown is taking one day at a time after a Christmas morning fire destroyed their home. Family members – Justin, Candace and children Colby, Kinsley and Kali – escaped because Justin woke up on the living room couch and saw a glow on the breaker box. He ran upstairs, saw the whole side of the wall was on fire, and yelled for the family to get out – now.

That was the first of a series of blessings that has made the loss a little more bearable. Justin has a disability that sometimes makes it difficult for him to walk, but he was able to run down a long hallway, waking up the family. “I shouldn’t have been able to, but somehow I did it and we all got out,” he said last week. After Candace and the kids headed to his parents’ house just down the hill to call 911 and seek shelter, he tried to get back in to retrieve a few Christmas gifts, singeing the hair on his eyebrows and arms in the process. By then, he said, the windows had blown out. His father stopped him from going back inside. The family was left with just the clothes they were wearing, shoes not included. A volunteer firefighter gave his coat to Justin, who would not leave the terrible scene.

The volunteer firefighters had arrived quickly, but it was too late to save the tongue-in-groove house.

Within hours, the community had gathered up clothes, new Christmas presents and cash donations. “The community helped out tremendous,” Justin said, adding it was overwhelming. “This community is tremendous the way they pulled together, even people from Chattanooga. An insurance guy we didn’t know opened a bank account for donations.” The Red Cross arrived that day as well, putting the family up in a motel for three nights, giving them a credit card for necessary items, and providing vouchers for Colby’s glasses and Candace’s contact lenses.

After the story hit the local TV news, a man from Sequoyah drove 90 miles to deliver a $1,000 check, saying he and his wife had been through the same thing 40 years ago and he felt their pain. Ruth Ann Taylor, Justin’s aunt, remembered that day, saying the man made it across the yard with the help of a walking stick to present the check. “Justin and Candace were squalling when it was over,” she said.

Justin commented, “It makes you stop and think what life’s all about,” adding, “Thank God I still have my wife and kids. That’s what means the world to me.”

 “I appreciate everything everybody’s done for us,” he said, quickly adding, “We need to help others when we get back on our feet.”

The insurance company has arrived to assess the damages but Justin doesn’t know how long it will take before rebuilding can begin. For now, the family is staying with his parents, Jeannie and Roy, and trying to be as normal as possible. It’s not been easy, Justin said, after losing everything they’d worked their butt off for. He said the first night was pretty rough, with the children wanting to go home. “I don’t know what to say. Our hearts are broken. ” He said he had to hold back the tears one day when Jeannie was cleaning her bedroom and three-year-old Callie said “I don’t have a room to clean. Mine got burned up.”

For now, “We’re just taking one day at a time. That’s all you can do.” He still thinks about the fire that destroyed the home he built but knows that time will heal itself.

Ruth Ann Taylor continues to be amazed, but not really surprised, at the outpouring of love for the family. Several area churches have taken up collections of food, clothing, toys and money. “We know God’s going to bring us through all this. It’s amazing to stand back and see how He’s working.” She added, “It’s made us all think. We could have been burying all five of them.” She said she is still choked up when recalling the service at Greasy Creek church when children were asked if they wanted to donate a Christmas present to the Taylor kids and one little girl gave up her Easy Bake oven, the only toy she wanted. “It made the adults ashamed, the kids were so free with their giving,” she commented. “Up here in the mountains there’s a love like you don’t see anywhere else. It’s something else.”

There is a bank account for donations for the family at First Volunteer Bank. Gift cards for Lowe’s or Home Depot are also welcome for the day the family can start rebuilding their home. As Ruth Ann put it, even small donations will add up. When the time comes, she said, “We’ll do what we always do in the mountains: Pick up a hammer and drive another nail.”