I didn't run the marathon yesterday, but I did do my favorite run along the Bosque. It heads south from the parking lot of the National Hispanic Cultural Center and runs along the Rio Grande for a few miles. My father died almost five years ago, and there was a fire right around that same time and about a mile of the run was scorched. For some reason, the recovery of the burn area seems to mirror the recovery in my own heart.
I've written about the burn area for the past few years. At first, none of the trees seemed to take route. Then there was a period where the sunflowers sprouted up and it felt like a jungle. There was one summer when without warning, the City must have come in and leveled the area- taking sunflower and tree alike. That actually wasn't as bad as it sounded-- I had the best views of the Rio Grande and the Bosque to the other side.
So what is the burn area like to run through today?
The leaves are turning. The part of the trail before the run is amazing, you can pretend you're in Vermont. As for the burn area, the cottonwood trees that were planted after the burn have finally made it past adolescence. Even though they are losing their leaves, you can tell that they will get them back in a few years. We need more trees of course, but they will come. I'm no biologist, but the bad trees and weeds seem to be dying on their own.
Long term prognosis is good. I just wish I could run a little faster.
As for my heart, faith is definitely taking root. Like the Bosque I'm healing, not as fast as I like, but I can indeed see where I'mg going. The good trees are growing, the weeds are dying. Long term prognosis is good.
I just wish I could run a little faster. ....but I know it's a marathon not a sprint...
No comments:
Post a Comment