My daughter Rozie recently sent me a picture of a flowering bush growing up through a crack of hardened volcanic rock. She shot this photo on the Big Island of Hawaii. Not so long ago, Kilauea erupted, spewing ash and lava, wiping out everything in its path. But nature is tenacious. Beauty rises from the ashes meant to destroy it.
This phenomenon is nothing new to me. While in Ecuador on short term medical missions, I became enchanted by the abundance of roses grown high in the Andes. The locals informed me of their secret. Along the equator, they have a constant 12 hrs. of sunlight year round and mild temperatures in the mountains. But the key to their agricultural success is the fertile volcanic soil.
The Andes form part of the eastern pacific edge of the ring of fire with numerous volcanoes both dormant and active. During our first visit to the area, one erupted on my birthday. It was far enough away that the ash did nothing more than cloud the sky. This was close enough for me!
Over recorded history, powerful volcanoes caused massive destruction, annihilating cities like ancient Pompeii. In more recent times, I remember reading of the force of Mt. St. Helen when it erupted in 1980. Yet over the ensuing 40 years, natural beauty rises from the ashes with much of the environment now fully recovered from the blast. Out of the ashes came fertile soil ready for new growth.
Think about the process for a moment. When exposed to the wind and rain, cracks develop in what appears to be solid rock. Within one of these cracks, a seed drops from a passing bird and grows into a plant, tall and strong. As it reaches up toward the sky, the rock’s crevices widen, allowing other plants to find root too. The rebirth of a forest begins in this way.
Isn’t the human condition much the same? At some point in each of our lives, forces out of our control seek to destroy us. These experiences have the potential to harden our hearts like volcanic rock.
Yet when we allow the gentle nudging of the Spirit within our heart, it acts like the wind and rain. The hardness there slowly begins to crack. Into these cracks, the Lord plants seeds of Love, eventually breaking down the rock into fertile soil. Then out of this desolate landscape, new growth erupts, more glorious than ever before.
Painful times invade every life. No one is immune. Nevertheless, we don’t have to allow these destructive experiences to define us. Choose instead to allow the Lord to work in your hurting heart. When you do, then a person of eternal beauty rises from the ashes through the work of His loving hands.
… bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
Isaiah 61:3 NIV
