Imagine the flames, smoke pouring into the sky. Utter destruction. Will things ever be the same again? So much beauty…gone. In 2018, I observed from afar as the Alkali Lake fire burned around Telegraph Creek, BC. I had driven these twisty roads in 2013, and looked forward to returning in 2019. It just seemed so sad to realize that it might just be a bunch of charred trees.
It seems like COVID-19 is on its way to changing life as we know it. For a while…maybe for a long time. How long will the quarantines last, what about the economy, what about the life we enjoyed?
There’s something beautiful about forest fires. Even less than a year after the fire, there is green in this photo. Along the forest floor, the pink Fireweed is probably shooting up all over the place. Just like the trees will be black for a long time, we might have to live life differently. It will take time, but the new green that springs up will be amazing…so crisp and bright.
What I enjoy the most in this photo is the path that winds through it. Surrounded in green. We can have hope because of God by our side. The trees might be burnt all around, the flames might be flying overhead, but He is there. It’s important that we cast our cares on Him and not on any power of man. Wandering in the bush, you might be overwhelmed by the flames, but on the narrow(twisty) road, if you go to Him, God will keep you.
If you lack hope, look to God. Even if it will take decades for the green to be full again, He will be there…and that is what really matters.
“The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.”
-Psalm 23
The Narrow Twisty Road 