Earthquakes

Today I explored mountain ranges near Yellowstone and observed the geology that makes our land forms change.  Everything I saw was beautiful.  There were regal, peaked, snow-capped mountain ranges reaching to the clouds.  In between the ranges were lush valleys with meandering rivers and nice homes nestled in groves of trees.  Walls of rocks were every color and texture telling a 10,000 year story.  At the end of the day there is one main thing that causes this beauty, earthquakes.

Earthquakes push the land together and it forms awe inspiring mountain ranges. Earthquakes pull the land apart and create lush valleys for us to build our homes.  Earthquakes reveal rock that was hiding under the surface. Earthquakes crack and move the surface of the earth, but over time, the land settles in, the grass and trees start growing again and the evidence of the earthquake is only visible to the trained eye.

My cancer and MS were earthquakes that rocked my life.  They tore at the scene I was used to seeing. They ripped apart the life I had become familiar with.  They took away my security.  It has been over 4 years since my cancer diagnosis and over 2 years since my MS diagnosis.  I am already noticing that I am able to settle into this new landscape.  Only the most observant person will know that I had cancer or have MS.  I emit beauty amidst the devastation that tried to tear me apart.

I've never compared my diseases to an earthquake before today's journey.  I like the analogy.  It paints a beautiful picture of how the devastation, once allowed to heal, can create beauty and wonder.  The pain isn't gone, it is remembered, but it puts off a fragrance that is inviting and encouraging.  The scars are there, but they are hidden by new beauty of healing and growth that wouldn't have been there if it hadn't been for the earthquake.