No doubt many of you, like me, have seen the harrowing images on the television news, or on various social media platforms, of widepread wildfires which have devastated areas of California, north of Los Angeles.
Norris Hall
The infernos of destruction have not discriminated in the destroying of homes and businesses in a matter of hours; residences and buildings into which so much has been invested with hope and dreams. Over two dozen deaths have been recorded thus far in what can be described as hell on earth. And to make matters even worse there have been reports of opportunistic looting of evacuated homes, as well as minor earthquakes and slips.
It has been a living nightmare for law enforcement agencies and emergency services. The insurance bill will be astronomical and payouts will not compensate for the loss of treasures, both personal and cultural. A rebuild will take time, a sense of loss healed.
Many of those interviewed as they surveyed the scope of their loss have been surprisingly stoic, masking an internal build-up and conflict of emotion and turmoil.
But California is not alone in experiencing such hellish destruction. Australia experiences an annual scourge of bushfires, destroying everything in their path. And neighbouring New Zealand, our God’s Own, has suffered earthquakes in Christchurch of recent times; our country is not called the “Shakey Isles” for nothing. And being situated in the South Pacific, it is no stranger to cyclones, one of which was a very destructive Bola in early 1988.
But despite that sense of loss, the overwhelming damage, the light of human resilience always shines through that darkness and despair. We will rebuild and live life again. History tells us that destruction is part of the process of regeneration and change.
Jerusalem
In 70AD, the Roman occupying force in what is now Israel destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem as part of putting down yet another major rebellion. The Jewish people were forced into exile and were scattered throughout the then known world. They suffered persecution and discrimination and pogroms.
And yet their hope, faith and intention to return to Jerusalem and their home-land remained strong.
While the Temple has yet to be rebuilt today, Jewish people have been returning to Israel since the British Mandate – if not earlier; transforming desert into productive areas, creating effective infrastructure and new lives.
Out of the rubble of destruction and conflict has grown a new, promising future.
To bring these thoughts closer to home, even to ourselves, we have been confronted by the deaths of loved ones, job loss, burglary and accidents, diagnoses of life threatening illnesses and so on. In all those instances we may be experiencing our own personal wildfires, earthquakes or cyclones. And we may wonder “Where is the justice in all this? Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this? How will I cope?” We are beset with a flood of emotions and conflicting thoughts.
The human spirit will always prevail over whatever is thrown at it. We will always survive and rebuild, no matter how long and painful it may be. The Californian wildfires remind us how vulnerable we are and how fragile the environment is at any given time, and how prepared and resilient we must be.
It’s something to think about in the days and months ahead.
Hollywood, California. Photo: Thomas Balabaud, pexels.com
