That fire I mentioned in the ‘trust the process’ post kept me out of our little gulch for a couple of weeks. Stella and I went walking through the devastation the morning after I was allowed back in. The black she sat in would soon return to green, like the tops of the hillsides already showing shades of life, and flowers would begin to push up from the ashes, but it would take time.

And standing there in the ashes, I realized that the fire burned the old, dead grasses away to make room for new growth. Sometimes that needs to happen in our own lives, too.

Once a week we’re posting my thoughts on the message from each For The Sender chapter, making our way through both books and giving away a book autographed by the For The Sender family each time.

Here’s Chapter 5, Book 1. Have you ever watched the world burn around you and seen beauty rise from the wreckage? Share your story in the comments below and we’ll choose a post and send you a book autographed by the For The Sender family.