Growth From the Fire

In 2020 Big Basin Redwood State Park in Northern California experienced a devastating fire that burned through 97% of the 22,500 acre park. Many trees burned to ash, others were hollowed out, all of the buildings were lost in the fire, and the history of the park appeared to completely disappear. The devastation of this fire was felt throughout the state as many travel far and wide to experience the beauty of this park. When the fires died out and tha ash settled something incredible began to happen.

The trees started to regrow. The ash provided nutrients for the plants to flourish. The brush and small plants had been removed giving the trees with deep roots the room to grow and thrive.

Sometimes in life we go through horrible fires that seem to burn away everything good in our life. Sometimes if feels we will never heal and can never grow from the ash our our broken life. But just like we saw in Big Basin, sometimes a fire is all that is needed to clear out the brush (unkind friends, a bad job, negative homelife, relationship challenges) and give room for us to grow. Sometimes there's so much around us that we don't have the space to grow and instead have become complacent and stuck in our current situation. Sometimes we feel like things can never get better and that the fire is the last straw that will break us. But it does not have to! The fire can clear out all the negative people and situations and give you room to heal, grow, and dig your roots deeper to provide the support you need to grow into something so beautiful.

You may have scars but that does not mean you are broken, damaged, or less than. Your scars make you beautiful because they show all that you have overcome, the challenges you have conquered, and the resiliency you hold inside of yourself. As your roots grow deeper they can connect you to supportive people, resources, healthy coping skills, and help you to build self esteem.

You can grow from the ash and become something more than you ever imagined