Sam and Monica laugh together at the kitchen table. Sunlight pours through the window as baby Lola stumbles across the room to her mom, where she is met with kisses. The little Dillsburg home is filled with scattered toys, plants brought fresh from the greenhouse, and the feeling of joy.
The cupboards are painted in a rich, dark green, and a fun light fixture made from mason jars, a favorite touch of Monica’s, hangs above the countertop. To an outsider, it would seem like the ideal first home for a young couple. But to Sam and Monica, every beautiful detail is a reminder that this world is not our home.
Sam and Monica Hsu are no strangers to lament. In 2017, shortly before their marriage, Monica received the news that her mother was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis, which would eventually take her life. As Monica grieved for her mother, Sam struggled with how to support her. Their marriage was crumbling, and neither knew how to mend it.
“We were grieving separately,” Sam remembers. “I really didn’t know how to connect with Monica or know what she needed. I was working later hours as a way of coping. I really thought ‘This was something I could do to try and provide for my family’.”
Around the time of her mother’s passing, Monica and Sam began attending West Shore, where Pastor Trent was moving through a sermon series on lamenting. In one sermon, a quote stuck with her: “When you lose a child, you can grieve apart, or you can grieve together. And that is what shapes a marriage”.
In the next few months, the Lord slowly began to bring restoration to a marriage that was broken by loss, and Sam and Monica learned to lean on each other as they worked through their struggles. Looking back, it’s clear to them that the Lord was using this conflict to prepare them for the most unexpected tragedy of their lives.
“Sam, I think we should pray over our household.”
It was December 11, 2022, and the Hsu’s were getting ready for bed. A day earlier, they had just finished moving into their very first home—a charming 3-bedroom ranch house in Dillsburg. Around that time, Monica had recently found out she was pregnant, a secret they hoped to keep to themselves for just a while longer. Their life together was changing rapidly, and Monica knew that surrendering their burdens to the Lord was the only way to navigate through.
That same night, around 1 in the morning, Sam woke to an alarming smell of smoke wafting ominously through the room.
“I looked out the back window and could see a reflection on the pool fence that was all lit up,” Sam said. He assumed that a fire had begun in one of the neighboring homes. As he ran into the hallway to investigate, he realized that it wasn’t the neighbors’ house that was on fire…it was his.
“Monica, there’s a fire! We need to get out!”
What started as an electrical fire in one of the bathroom light fixtures was now working its way into the hallway. The flames were spreading rapidly – they didn’t have much time. The Hsu’s quickly scrambled to gather whatever belongings they could carry on the way out.
“I grabbed my phone and my watch, threw them into a bag and started calling 911,” Monica said.” Monica also salvaged a small stuffed animal that once belonged to her mom. Firefighters raced to the scene. The only thing the couple could do was watch from the driveway as everything they owned went up in flames.
“I remember looking at the house,” Monica said. “I just kept reminding myself that it’s all just stuff.”
With nowhere else to go, Sam and Monica drove to Sam’s parents’ home in Gettysburg, with nothing except their car, their pajamas, and shoes. The next few days were followed by a different kind of lament: Everything they owned was gone. Every piece of furniture, every appliance, every photograph and family heirloom, was lost forever. And because the move-in was so recent, Sam was unsure if their insurance would even cover the damage. This was the point where he felt God asking him, how much do you trust me?
“Initially when you go through something like that, you think, ‘God, why me?’” Sam said. “Something a mentor taught me to ask instead is, ‘What are you trying to teach me?’”
Over the next few weeks, the couple watched the Lord’s faithfulness unfold as each daily need was met. They received donations from coworkers, church friends, and community members – not to mention a constant flow of prayers and encouragement. One woman even donated a bag of maternity clothes, without knowing Monica was pregnant. And to their relief, they learned that much of what they lost was covered by their insurance company, which aided them in the rebuilding process. Slowly but surely, they began to restore what was lost.
“It’s such a powerful testimony when something terrible happens and you are still reflecting the joy of what Christ has done for you,” said Sam. “How much more of a witness is that to non-believers, who don’t understand the peace that passes all understanding?”
After a year-long process of renovating, Monica and Sam were able to move into their home again – this time, permanently. Now, as they sit at the table together, they are reminded that their true home is far more valuable than the four walls that surround them.
“Paul wrote in Philippians about learning the secret to being content,” Sam said. “I think I have learned that secret. It comes by losing everything. There is freedom and joy in not having to feel connected to anything here on Earth, knowing it’s all going to pass away.”
Sam and Monica want to encourage those in seasons of tragedy to continually look to Christ, our High Priest who is acquainted with our suffering. Suffering is a well-known part of our life on Earth, but the Lord promises us a new life with no more death, nor sorrow, nor pain.
“Someday, we are going to go to a place that is far better than this, because God will be there, and we’ll be in his presence,” Sam said. “We will be experiencing his glory in a way that we never will on Earth.”
Praise God for giving his children joy in the storms, beauty in the ashes, and the promise of a new, everlasting home.
Meet the Author
Jessie Soliday is the Communications Coordinator at WSFC. She works with the communications team to create and update the weekly “What’s Happening” document. Jessie also helps to communicate important information within the congregation, staff, and community through various forms of content. Before joining the staff in 2023, Jessie’s past employment included working as a client advocate for Morning Star Clinics. Jessie has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Messiah University.
Jessie resides in Mechanicsburg. In her free time, she enjoys singing and playing her fiddle, spending time with her family and friends, cooking, and being outdoors.