Bishop James Ashby isn’t lucky; he’s blessed.

The pastor of Franklin Church of God lost so many of the things he valued in a devastating house fire early Tuesday morning.

Everything he had to link to the past — family photo albums, books, certificates, awards, old drawings — has been wiped out. All of his clothes, electrical appliances, CDs and DVDs are gone as well.

But even though he lost all of his material possessions, he still has what matters most to him: his family.

Amazingly, Ashby and six other people, including his two infant grandchildren, were able to escape the blaze. This is happy news from the middle of a tragedy and should inspire us all to reflect on what is truly, at our core, most important to us.