How Mother Nature Taught Me to Persevere After Devastation.

In September of 2011, the most devastating fire in Texas history roared through Bastrop, TX, burning for 55 days, destroying over 1,200 homes, and devouring more than 32,000 acres.

At the time, I was only marginally aware of the fire due to the fact that the company I worked for was gathering supplies for all of the people who had been displaced — toiletries, clothes, etc.

However, I remember seeing pictures of the aftermath on the news and feeling heartbroken. Homes were completely destroyed and all that was left of the beautiful forest that had once encompassed Bastrop State Park was nothing but charred ground and burnt tree stumps.

Mother nature had been completely decimated and I wondered to myself how the land would ever recover.

Fast forward to 2019 when I experienced a forest fire level of devastation in my own life. In July of that year, I discovered the man I’d spent two years of my life with was a fraud. My life had become an episode of 20/20 where the unknowing woman is in love with a married, deceiving, manipulative narcissist.

Learning the truth about him burned my world to the ground in an instant. I was left in complete shock. And he was gone.

While dating him, I’d discovered a love for hiking. He and I had gone a few times, but I’d never hiked alone. Initially, I stuffed all of my hiking gear into the back of my closet — sure I’d never hike again. It hurt too much to think about.

Then one day, in a state of complete indignation, I pulled out my gear and sat it in the middle of my living room.

“I’m not letting him take this from me, too.” I decided.

After some research, I settled on “The Lost Pines Trail” — a 7-mile loop in Bastrop State Park.

At the time, the fire that had once devastated the area was a distant memory. However, it would soon come back to me.

As I started the hike, my heart felt so heavy. Hiking with him had been some of my favorite moments and now here I was alone, devastated, and still in shock over how he’d deceived me.

However, as I continued, the loneliness started to fade away and I became engrossed with mother nature.

Through the greenery and growing pine trees, the flowers, and the bees, there were also burned remnants of the trees that once stood there. I suddenly remembered the fire. I remembered the devastation and then I marveled at the resilience of mother nature all around me.

I put my hand on the remnants of what was left of a burned tree.

“This is me,” I thought. “This is how I feel.”

Then in my mind, I heard, “After great devastation, there is a time for rest. And then, there will be regrowth.”

Was this God speaking to me? Was it Mother Nature herself?

The words were so powerful that I fell to my knees and wept.

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That hike was two years ago — and though my life doesn’t look anything like I thought it would, I am the most content I’ve ever been.

The charred remains of the life I was once living became lessons that enriched the soil of my life. And through those lessons learned, I’ve become stronger, more capable, and proven to myself that I am resilient.

To this day, that moment in the forest remains one of the most significant moments of my life. Not only did I prove to myself that I could continue to move forward despite what happened, I also learned through the perseverance of mother nature that the devastation would not last forever.

The scars of what happened will always remain, however, there has been regrowth, and life is beautiful again.