Fire

I know most of us have seen or have at least heard about all the wildfire destruction that happens out west. It's terrible; many people lose their homes, forests are burned down, and people and animals lose their lives. It's horrific, but we don't innately view fire as bad, do we?

If we look at a forest fire where no human life was lost and is caused by natural events, there is a lot of good in that. Forest fires remove low-growing underbrush, giving way to more sunlight and nourishing the soil below, leading to a better opportunity for a new forest to flourish into something better than the last. Yes, it'll result in a lot of loss, and it'll take a lot of time for this forest to flourish again, but the ending is so worth it. Plants return in higher numbers, food is abundant, and the habitat is more sustainable for those living there. But it did have to go through a time of destruction and loss to get there, but it was needed.

Although we won't like to admit it, sometimes we need "forest fires" in our life. We need to be burned down, broken, and destroyed to come back as something much more beautiful. We need all the things that are blocking our sunlight to burn away. We need our soil re-nourished, and we may need a chance to re-grow and change. But although needed, it is not easy. This time of breaking down and rebuilding may be some of the most challenging points of your life. It may be hard to see the ending result; you might not think the ending result is worth all of this and want to give up. Don't do that. This fire will hurt at the moment, it's going to break you, but it gives you a chance to change. It allows you to re-grow into the version of yourself you've always wanted. It will enable you to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. It'll give you a chance to become a new you.

This new you will also make you more "habitable" for those around you. The old you might've had some toxic traits that pushed good people away. It might've attracted the wrong type of people that brought you down. You are who you hang around; you morph into that group. A better version of you will attract better people; it will attract people who live day by day, improving themselves. This will, in turn, require you to push and improve. It will draw the ones you've always meant to be the closest with because this new you is the person you were always intended to be. When you finally get there, it's easy to see the benefit of said fire. It'll be easy to see why pushing through all the hurt was worth it. But if you're currently in that fire, I know the pain you are feeling.

If you feel like a fire is burning down your life right now, that's okay. Rejoice in that, and realize that it is God's plan for you; he knows you need this time of hurt to become something new or refined. He knows you're hurting; he's there to comfort you and guide you. He wants you to do things you've never would've done before, and he needs you to step out of your comfort zone so he can use you for his greater plan. A boat can look pretty in its harbor, but that was never the intention of the boat; it's supposed to sail, conquer tough water, and discover new lands, a new life.

If you feel like your life is breaking, keep on fighting, keep pushing, and tell yourself that you will win this time. Call on God and cry for his help and guidance; he's been waiting for you. This fire of life you're going through WILL make you better if you let it. But that's all up to you, your trials can mold you into the dream version of yourself, or you can allow them to destroy you permanently; the choice is yours. I pray that you take that guidance from God and take this fire head-on to come out on the other side so much better than you were before. You are worth it. You are worth the fight. You are loved.

Trevor Crowder