What Can We Learn from Forest Fires?
It was the summer of 1998, and wildfires were raging across numerous counties on the East coast of Florida. We lived in Jacksonville at the time and the fires did not reach us. But I remember not being able to run for several weeks because of the smoke that reached as far as Jacksonville. It has come to be known as the Florida Firestorm and around 500,000 acres were burned. Or course, we have seen too many more recent examples of dangerous and devastating fires out West over the last couple of years. The loss of life and property in such fires can be immense.
But one of the things I’ve always marveled at is the ability of forests to renew themselves in the wake of such fires. I remember a year or so after the fires, driving down I-95 and seeing the growth already occurring. It was amazing to watch new life emerge from the ashes. I did some reading yesterday and this process of regeneration is complicated by climate change. Yet, even amidst those complications, plant life seems to adapt. It reminds me of the classic line from the movie Jurassic Park, (I raised boys. I lived with these movies for years!) “Life finds a way.”
That image of life emerging from ashes is our theme for our Lent/Easter message series this year, “Hope: Journey from Ashes to Life”. We began this journey on Wednesday evening as we gathered, either online or in-person for Ash Wednesday worship, to be marked with the ashes of our mortality, our frailty, our brokenness with the sign of the cross. As Allee said in her message, it may seem like the last thing we need to do is face our mortality or think about sacrificing anything after the year we have all experienced. But the invitation to Lenten reflection, with its penitential mood and emphasis on sacrifice, is never intended to be an invitation to self-loathing or despair over the state of our lives. It is an invitation to simply be honest with ourselves about the things that keep us from the fullness of life that Christ came that we might experience. It is an invitation to be real about our dust, our pain, our brokenness, and the ways we sometimes break ourselves or others. That’s what the emphasis on prayer and fasting is about. We seek to remove some of the things that distract us from honesty, from looking and listening to the whispers of the Spirit. As we listen, we can trust that the Spirit will reveal to us not only our frailty and failings but also our belovedness, our beauty, and the goodness that lies within us that we are tempted to miss.
The truth is that we could not bear to make this journey if it were not for the fact that we make it knowing that we are God’s beloved. We are cherished beyond measure and God wants us to know the fullness of that love and grace and to remove any barriers in our lives to that grace. We enter the season of Lent trusting in the grace of Christ that will meet us along the way. We enter the season of Lent knowing that while owning our dust is never easy, it will lead to life, to healing, to hope for the fullness of life God intends for us to know. We enter Lent knowing that though we will face a cross, there is resurrection life on the other side. We make the journey in hope and with hope, trusting the power of God to accompany us, transforming our dust and ashes into something new, something good, something beautiful.
I hope you will choose to make this Lenten journey whether you are worshipping online or in-person throughout the season. Our “Lent-at-Home” bags are intended to help you engage this season with prayer and reflection on scripture for each day of Lent. Our weekly video devotions will also follow this devotional guide and the gospel lessons that we will use each Sunday in Lent are included on the Saturday readings each week. If you haven’t received your “Lent at Home” bag, you may pick one up during office hours any day next week or on Sunday after worship. We will also be working to deliver them to as many homes as possible over the next week. If you would like to help with delivery, contact
On a personal note, I will be kicking off my Lenten journey this weekend with a 3-day, silent retreat for prayer and reflection at the Ignatius House just outside of Atlanta. It’s been too long since I’ve engaged in an extended period of silence and I’m looking forward to letting the dust settle and listening to the whispers of the Spirit in my own heart. In the meantime, you will have the joy of welcoming Rev. Rick Jones back to Suntree UMC as he preaches in Traditional worship. (Gathering folks – you get to hear Pastor Allee at 9:30 and can still hear Pastor Rick at 11:00!) We are excited to welcome Rick back to Suntree for a Sunday!
Finally, on another personal note, I want to invite you to join me in saying a huge “thank you” to Lia Page for her many years of faithful service to our children and families here at Suntree. Lia is stepping away from her position as Director of Children’s Ministries to take a new position at Holy Trinity Episcopal School. While we are sad to see her go, we are excited for her as she begins a new journey in her career. And the good news is that Lia will still be worshipping and serving with us here at Suntree UMC.
Have a great weekend and may God bless you this Lent as you make the journey of hope, from ashes to life.
Grace and Peace,
Annette