{"id":15351,"date":"2020-06-10T22:19:25","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T22:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamsignificant.ca\/?p=15351"},"modified":"2020-07-27T16:08:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T16:08:00","slug":"hope-from-the-ashes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamsignificant.ca\/home\/sole-significance\/hope-from-the-ashes\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope from the Ashes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrea and I went hiking a few days ago in Waterton National Park.\u00a0 <\/span>It is a lovely treasure just a couple of hours’ drive from home. \u00a0 <\/span>With COVID-19 restrictions being slowly lifted the park was being reopened on a limited basis so we took the opportunity to visit.<\/span><\/p>\n

We set out along a trail excited as the wildflowers were beginning their display of loveliness. \u00a0 <\/span>The foliage was thick and dark green, the moss and lichens prolific on the weeping faces of sedimentary rock outcrops. \u00a0 Oh, so\u00a0<\/span>lovely.<\/span><\/p>\n

And amongst the green, the fresh growth and the splendour of the wildflowers stood the silent reminders of the 2017 Kenow Forest Fire<\/strong>. \u00a0 <\/span>The result of the confluence of all the right conditions – exceptionally hot, dry weather, strong winds, and a lightning strike. \u00a0 <\/span>The fire raged and consumed acres and acres and came ominously close (a couple of hundred metres) to the Waterton townsite.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo credit: Coaldale & District Emergency Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we meandered along the trail,\u00a0 <\/span>I was arrested by the remains of a burnt-out tree.\u00a0 <\/span>It stood about 4 feet tall and maybe 9-10 inched around – all turned to charcoal.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I stood there in silence I was aware of this as a picture of death<\/strong>. \u00a0 <\/span>I became aware of space within me where I was holding some grief. \u00a0 <\/span>Grief from my own loss and also the grief of those I have served over the past couple of months. \u00a0 <\/span>I also found mixed in there grief as it relates to the pain in the world, most notably the recent murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police. \u00a0And, I suppose wrapped in that was grief that I was losing faith that love wins.\u00a0 Wondering if the dispensationalists were right in their dark eschatology, as I clung to<\/span><\/span>\u00a0a faith that the God-who-loves will rescue a world that is in such miserable shape. Hoping the God-who-loves in partnership with people of goodwill will indeed rescue us from ourselves and heal our world.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I had been praying for a tenacious optimism<\/strong> – not a pie in the sky<\/em> kind of hope or a bury your head in the sand<\/em> kind of hope rather a hope that in the face of such turmoil and chronic despair would tenaciously anchor me in something much bigger and more beautiful.\u00a0 <\/span>Something that genuinely transcends.<\/span><\/p>\n

At that moment the burnt-out tree, it became a physical symbol for the grief I was carrying. I began to release that energy, the burden, and the pain of it.\u00a0 <\/span>I was surprised by the depth of it, as I wasn\u2019t aware of how much grief I was carrying.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I poured out this grief before this tree, my vision began to widen.\u00a0 <\/span>As the release continued the burnt tree began to fade from my focus and I became acutely aware of the thick, green, lovely new growth emerging from the scorched earth.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, all along I had been enjoying the wildflowers and lovely colours, but it seemed after my encounter with the ugliness of the symbol of death, the new life took on a new vibrancy, a deeper sense of peace and joy-filled my heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

For me, this tree, in the context of fresh, new growth became a new symbol not just of death but new life as well.\u00a0 <\/span>That even in the ashes of catastrophic loss new life emerges<\/strong>. \u00a0 <\/span>The idea that while life is fragile, it is also tenacious and overcoming. \u00a0Creation leans towards life and beauty lured by divine love, and this has been a fresh catalyst for the tenacious hope I have been praying for. \u00a0 <\/span>A reminder that the God-who-loves is indeed at work making all things new, exchanging ashes for beauty drawing all things towards Christ in love.<\/span><\/p>\n

Funny, as I stood in front of that burnt-out tree with all the new growth bursting forth around it, a line from an old movie bubbled up from my heart. It was a scene from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel\u00a0<\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything will be alright in the end so if it is not alright…\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cit is not the end.\u201d I said in unison with the voice in my heart.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I laughed out loud and I felt remarkably lighter. \u00a0A strange peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

I paused to drink deeply of the scene once more. To express my gratitude and take a deep breath, and I continued my meandering, enraptured by the beauty and the ashes. Hope renewed.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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