Out of the Ashes
Recently, as I drove through Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park in central California, I saw the remains of a fire that took place in October 2021. (photo above)
Going from the healthy trees into the damaged trees, the charred landscape was stark and grim. But something else was happening in the ashes. I learned that there are benefits to the forest when a fire occurs. I googled and discovered that some plants actually require fire to move along their life cycles. The “seeds from many pine tree species are enclosed in pine cones that are covered in pitch, which must be melted by fire for the seeds to be released.” (National Geographic Society)
It occurred to me that the devastation from our grief has brought out some seeds that are producing new things in us. The words in John 12:24 (NIV) remind us of this principle:
“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
The death of our loved one changed us and the landscape of our lives.
A transformative process is taking place following our loss. The grief that we will never get over leads to growth in ways we may not see yet. The term “post-traumatic” growth comes to mind.
In a recent column titled, “Some People Turn Suffering Into Wisdom”, NY Times columnist, David Brooks observes, “Scholars differ over how common post-traumatic growth is. But I’m often around people who have this unwanted wisdom, that attitude of “tragic optimism” that Viktor Frankl describes, who see their lives as redemption stories.”
Like the pine cone seeds that are released when melted by fire, so our grief unearths hidden parts of us. The journey through grief yields evidence of not just something that is lost, but something that is found.