The Scene of the Crime

It was just over 30 years ago that she blew her face off. It wasn't expected. Oh, some said they knew but the rest wouldn't believe them. Then one day, "Boom" and it was over.

There are a few significant events that our in our lifetime that we remember forever. This is one of those events for me. I was visiting family when the shocking news came.

On May 18th 1980, Mount St. Helen's blew her face off and devastated everything around her. After visiting family I had to drive through the ash-covered countryside to return home. And today I returned to the scene of the crime. Honestly, I couldn't believe how barren the landscape still is in places. The grey tree trunks hit in the original blast still stand starkly as mute witnesses to the unfathomable force unleashed that day. The landscape is definitely still scarred badly.

But in other places there are signs of new vegetation and animal life. A land once completely obliterated, is being restored and renewed. New life is taking place.

It reminded me that no disaster or devestation in our lives is completely unrecoverable. No past is too bad to overcome. It may take time, and there may still be a lot of scarring. But healing can come. Restoration and recovery are possible.

We've all had a Mount St. Helen's in our life. And if you haven't yet, just wait. It will come. But the lesson of the mountain is not just that of remembering the horrible damage it caused. It is also the lesson of recovery, renewal, and above all, hope.

One more thing, we covered 450k today and ended up in Kennewick. I had the biggest Calzone ever! And no, I didn't eat the whole thing!