It is by suffering that human beings become angels. ~Victor Hugo
The fog lingers, sending an icy chill into a mid-summer morning. I shiver on the cool wood bench, willing the sun to break through out of pity for my thin sweatered self.
Beauty often comes wrapped in fog on the California coast.
And human beings love our comfort, don’t we? When it’s hot, we dream of icy waters. As winter winds howl, we imagine lying on warm sand.
When surrounded by the crowd we pray for solitude, and then anxiously wait for the phone to ring, a text or tweet to rescue us from the silence.
In a controlled environment, we adjust the thermostat, a comfortable 70 degrees no matter the season. The chill, the searing heat, is not of our choosing.
If I had the power, I would be tempted to prune away your pain. The green waste bin would fill with difficult people, ugly uncertainties and any twinge of critique or crisis. You would never have to sit in the damp fog of suffering.
I would be your helicopter parent, your well-intentioned friend, my own self-protector, hovering with a blow dryer at the first hint of mist. And so deny us both the gift.
The gift of empathetic depths, of heroic heights, of generous breadth.
The Gift of Fog
Coastal Redwoods lend a living metaphor. Their roots send nourishment to the rest of the tree, as is expected. But, unusual for their species, these giant trees reach high with mitt-shaped leaves to grab, not curse, the fog. Through tiny pores, the nutritious water travels through leaf and branch to nourish the roots below.
The same languishing fog of my morning misery brings life and health to trees around me. Can it be that the cold swirl of adversity holds a gift for me as well?
We are biologically wired for challenge–we thrive when we are tested. Growth, nourishment, the warmth of the blessing often come wrapped in fog.
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. James 1:2-4
What have you learned from the fog?
