An advantage? Adversity?? Are you kidding?
No, I am not joking. It has taken me several years to
grasp this- years of walking through a very dark season.
It began with me thinking I was such a "strong believer".
It is ending with me having learned a few things,
as well as being very sure that I know very little!
I learned about the renewing properties of fire:
"While not all the effects of prescribed burns are known some are very evident. The first of these common effects is that vegetation and fallen dead material are burned creating an open forest floor. This eliminates any fuel that could contribute to a high intensity fire in the future. When the fire burns the organic material in the forest, nutrient rich ash is left behind. When the first rain comes, the nutrients in the ash dissolve into the soil for the new plants to use. This process is called nutrient recycling. These nutrients left in the soil are a good source of food for the young plants that will begin to grow back.
Another outcome of prescribed fire is that new growth begins immediately after the fires have been extinguished. Within a few weeks green will emerge from the layer of ash. Many of the seeds that sprout were protected under the soil before the fire occurred, but some were released during the fire. Some trees, like the lodgepole pine, release cones, and those cones release their seeds when heated. The new vegetation that begins to grow thrives in the nutrient rich soil. Also, the new plants have little competition for sunlight and food which enables them to mature at a faster rate. " - from Wildfires blog
Are you enduring a "prescribed burn" that you may have mistaken for a tragedy?
God promises that "When you walk through the fire you will not be burned..."Is. 43:2
and that you may receive "a crown of beauty for ashes." Isaiah 61:
Fire cleanses the dead things from our lives,- and prunes those
things that may be strangling/prohibiting progress;
providing a place for fresh new growth.
It seems so destructive at first, buy anyone who has been
through a fire, whether a house fire or a life season of fire,
will tell you that a new beginning followed it. Some things
were lost, but what remained was so very precious that it
overshadowed the loss.
Next week we will see Adversity's Advantage # 2.
It is this type of season that inspired this new release:
Inspiration
From Cathy:
HERE is your sample word art :) I hope it blesses you!
Link expired. Look for a new one at the end of this week.
See you next week with Advantage # 2 and more inspiration!
Have a good weekend!
