I grew up around there parts. I spent my formative years camping and fishing along Santiam Canyon. In the winter we headed up to Detroit and beyond to play in the snow. Lincoln City was the spot we always headed to on the coast. When my daughter was little it was the the forests of the Mackenzie river that drew us out doors in summer and winter. We also drove up the riverside to meet my parents coming down from Bend to exchange the child for a long weekend of grandparent fun. My dad’s ashes are scattered in part in the forest, under vine maples he loved, and along the shores of Lost Lake. Since we’ve moved to Portland the Korner Post in Detroit has become our stopping point for trips to Bend or Suttle Lake and we still prefer the Lincoln City area for our coast adventures.
These places are a glory of creation. I love the beauty of the trees, the smell of the forest, the rush of the water, the cliffs of the coast, and the joy of hunting for glass floats. These are sacred spaces, filled with family memories, spanning generations. My grandparents, my parents, my spouse and I, my child, have all hiked in Silver Creek Falls State Park.
These places are forever changed by the fires currently burning all over the state. And so today I am filled with a mix of emotions, fear for those in harms way, grief for those who have died, sorrow at the loss of homes and communities, nostalgia for the past, disappointment that the places I thought would always be there for us to enjoy will not be the same. I sit in wonder at the homes spared and pray for those struggling with survivor’s guilt as they find out their home or business was one of the few untouched by flame.
As I look at the apocalyptic sky outside the window and struggle to breathe the smoke filled air I lift my prayers of lament and praise, asking God to safeguard people, restore creation, and send rain.
My solace in these moments is that the fires will be doused one day, the forests will sprout a new, the people will build new places, and we will make new memories. It doesn’t change my grief and sorrow, but I am reminded once again that suffering is never the last word and there is always hope for tomorrow.
-E
If you want to help those evacuated the best thing to do is donate to the red cross. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
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