The Twin Towers in New York in 2001 and the explosion of Mount St. Helens in Washington State in 1980. Both destinations were nationally known, fatal, fiery, and traumatic. Both left behind visual carnage, and in both cases, people wondered if the damage could ever be repaired.
Imagine you were charged with the task of restoration. In the case of the Twin Towers, the devastation was simply destructive. The first task of the restorer would be to cart away all the remnants of the old buildings; the smoldering bricks and twisted steel girders would simply be detritus that impeded restoration. But in the case of Mount St. Helens, the debris from the eruption—fallen trees, volcanic ashes—was the starting point of reforestation. These elements were not merely compatible with recovery; it was conducive to it. Within 15 years, the site of the Mount St. Helens eruption was a thriving forest whose trees were unusually tall for their age because the ash abated competing weeds and foliage in their early years. Then other plants began to grow in the now-enriched soil. Wildlife returned. By 1997 there were more species of birds in the area than there were in the 1980 pre-eruption study of the same region.
The difference between rebuilding the Twin Towers and Mount St. Helens forest is simple: one disaster left debris that was in the way, and the other left debris that helped the restoration. In the same way, some people respond to suffering like the Twin Towers–it’s just in the way. Other people respond to suffering like the debris around Mount St. Helens–they take the ashes of their suffering and turn it into something that helps them flourish.