Yesterday Dad and I drove up to Yosemite National Park! It was a great trip, not only because the place is classic in its beauty, but because Dad and I got to enjoy it together. We had dreamed of doing some sort of trip together in honor of my college graduation, and Yosemite turned out to be an unexpected fulfillment of that dream.
I think one of my favorite parts was hiking in the Mariposa Grove, where there are Giant Redwoods. We did this short hike earlier in the day, and it is a powerful experience. We were surrounded by so much history! One tree, the Grizzly Giant, was over 1800 years old–which, Dad reminded me, is not long after the date we believe Christ was born. And, like any other history, the history of the grove was marked by tragedy: natural tragedy like fires left blackened marks on the trunks of these giant trees, and plaques along the trail told us that billions of logs were harvested from these ancient trees in earlier times.
As we walked, I was reminded of the verse in Romans: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal nature and divine power–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20).
These trees testify to God’s invisible qualities and the way He has designed humans. For example, we learned that over time Redwoods planted near each other end up fusing together in order to share nutrients and water. I thought about how people are designed to be in meaningful relationships with each other…and that we are healthier when we come together [community] than if we continue living our separate lives mere feet away from each other.
We also learned that for awhile, Western settlers would do everything in their power to stop natural forest fires. Then they figured out that halting nature’s process led to a more cluttered, sickly grove. Forest fires are a purifying process, in a way. Its when the fires are resisted that they become increasingly deadly.
1 Peter 1:7 says, “These [trials] have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by the fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” It makes me aware that resisting fires in my own life will be worse for me in the long run; on the other hand, accepting pain (whether it be loss, loneliness, shame, whatever) with an attitude of faith results in praise to God for His faithfulness.What a beautiful paradox: rejoicing in suffering.
