Reflect
The jack pine is a paradox: it can be easily killed by wildfire, and yet that’s the only way its serotinous cones can release their seeds. So the jack pine needs fire to reproduce, yet fire can destroy it. When we face catastrophes that burn down our lives as we knew them, what new thing may be born?
Pray
God of the burning bush,
When disaster strikes us—
As it must and will—
We offer you the ashes
Of our lives
And whatever seeds
May take root in the wreckage.
Help us to trust in this new beginning.
Tend these tender shoots.
Act
Most of us would try to prevent fires and to put them out if they start – that only makes sense, right? But if fire is sometimes necessary for renewal, can you discern what things in your life—and in our common life—need to burn?
