Bible Miraculously Survives Blaze that Destroyed New Mexico Woman’s Home
A New Mexico woman whose house nearly burned to the ground is taking solace in the kindness of neighbors and in the survival of a cherished possession: her Bible. Ellen Williams Phillips, an 89-year-old resident of Lovington, N.M., was in her house around 10:30 p.m. recently when she heard a loud “boom,” the Roswell Daily Record reported. Her garage had caught fire, quickly spreading to her house.
She and her grandsons escaped outside, where they watched firefighters battle the blaze. That night, she stayed in a hotel paid for by a neighbor.
“Everyone has been so nice to me,” she told the Daily Record. “One lady recently stopped me in Beall’s [a local store] and told me how sorry she was for what happened to me and gave me money. It’s just so humbling.”
Yet in her grief, God sent her a sign that He would provide, she believes.
“I always put my Bible on the dash of my car on the driver’s side when I go to church,” she said. “It was in my car in the garage when the fire started.”
Phillips expected everything to be lost but was surprised when a worker who was assigned to clear the rubble uncovered a physical copy of God’s Word. Although her vehicle was burned “beyond recognition,” her personal Bible survived with only burned edges, the Daily Record reported.
Steven Hammett of Albuquerque was the worker who discovered the Bible. The discovery encouraged him.
“When I saw the Bible was still intact, I felt like that proves that no matter what storms and hardship we go through in life, God’s Word will always prevail and cannot be destroyed,” Hammett told the Daily Record.
Phillips, too, found comfort in that truth. She hopes to move into her rebuilt home this year.
“People have been so nice. I don’t know where to send all the thank-you notes,” she said. “It’s a really humbling experience when you are on this end of it.”
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Javier_Art_Photography
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published February 26, 2025.
