While I love a good adventure, I never imagined that I would climb into a volcano… but I did, and it was incredible! During our last week in El Salvador, we climbed down into the crater of El Boqueron, an active volcano that is 1,700 feet to the bottom. I am certainly no volcano expert (so this may or may not be scientifically accurate), but here’s what I understood. As you can see in the picture below, a crater looks somewhat like a scooped out mountain… the sides are built up tall and the center drops down. Many years ago, this crater looked like a strong, complete mountain. A mountain that was beautiful to look at, a mountain people all over the country could recognize, this sort of natural wonder that had stood the way it was for hundreds if not thousands of years. And then it erupted, and everything changed. When this happened, the force from below the ground was so powerful that it blew out the center of the mountain, scattering pieces of rock miles away. What had existed one way for so long was different now. It seemed incomplete, unrecognizable even because it was altered so much. As something they had become so accustomed to changed, some people saw disaster where beauty once stood. But really, it wasn’t a disaster at all because it was eventually rebuilt… not by people, but by the God who created it in the first place and is an artist continually at work in this world.
The hike back up to the top was difficult: sometimes climbing up a seventy degree incline, climbing over boulders and up a tree, and scaling the narrow ledges of rocky cliffs… so we stopped several times to catch our breath. And in one of these moments, my breath was instead taken away because we stood overlooking the whole crater, realizing how far we’d come, and it was a beautiful sight. In this moment, I realized something. The inside of this crater was lined with so many beautiful, vibrantly green trees. There were places with grass that grew up to our waists and we ducked under countless vines, like we were explorers trekking through a whimsical forrest. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure these things don’t normally grow on the inside of mountains… which means that all of this beauty and life was only possible because of the eruption. The artist who is in control of the universe allowed this volcano to erupt, this mountain to explode, so that He could rebuild it… not in the same way but in a way that was even more beautiful than how it started.
Sometimes, change comes to us like a volcano.
It rushes in with no warning when we might be least expecting it. Something happens to explode a little part of our world and scatter the pieces. Maybe it’s a tragedy that is big and obvious to everyone. Maybe it’s a subtle change that rocks your world none the less. Or maybe it’s something internal that nobody can see, like a shift in identity where everything you once believed about yourself is shaken. Change can be scary when you’re used to existing a certain way for so long. Sometimes it’s a difficult process that leaves you feeling incomplete or unrecognizable at first, even to yourself. But in the moments when change seems like a disaster, we must remember that it can be good. Because sometimes, God lets these things happen that seem to shatter our worlds because He wants space to make our worlds even better. And then just like the volcano, He rebuilds us more beautifully than we were before. The eruption of El Boqueron opened up the center of a mountain and gave God room to transform the inside of a giant rock into something covered with life where people could come and marvel at His creation. And through our experiences, He transforms us into people who are wiser, braver, and more prepared to live life. It doesn’t always mean life is easier, it just means that somehow, we’re better because of it. It’s like a refining process… He uses these moments to change our hearts. We may not see His purpose until years after the change when we are looking back, but remember that if He cares enough to make a volcano more beautiful, He certainly cares enough about you.
UPDATE: This month ushered in a season of change on the Race. We entered a new country, a new continent, and a new culture with a new language and new people. The way of life I felt comfortable in for the last four months is very different now. We also got new team assignments, so I’m no longer with the girls I learned to love as Sistas. But while I miss them like crazy, I’m very excited for my new team. I am on another all-girls team with six wonderful ladies: Bree, Nicole, Jarin, Heather, Trish, and Andrea. (You can click on their faces on the left side of this page to learn more about them!) Our team name is Beautiful Mess. The idea is that when you have a candle inside a ceramic or glass pot, the light can only shine out the top. But when the pot is broken and the pieces are glued back together, the light now also shines out all of the cracks and it’s impossible not to see it. That’s what we want in this season… we want God to break us down so He can rebuild us more beautifully, and then we want to shine more brightly for Him because of it, cracks and all.
Change can be scary but I’m ready and excited, even if it comes like a volcano. Because I’ve learned that sometimes good things are possible only because of change, like climbing into a volcano and seeing its beauty. And because the same artist who created us is constantly at work in this world, and He’s rebuilding us to be even more beautiful than we already are!
Here’s a picture of the crater we climbed into and my new team, Beautiful Mess.
