The world is watching, holding its breath as the fires in Greece rage on. Hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes as firefighters struggle to contain huge, days-old, wildfires.

Parts of Greece are burning, with media reports showing areas of the Mediterranean and Aegean provinces that have been destroyed.

Images of devastation have flooded the world and raised concerns about the irreparable damage that has been done to the ecosystem. The magnitude of the problem cannot be denied.

Just like the fires in Greece, sometimes out of no -where we are faced with natural disaster in our lives. None of us wants to go through a natural disaster. Not just fires, but storms in our finances, in our jobs and in our families. If only the days could be all sunshine and clear skies. Those are the kinds of days we pray for and often the kind of days we think we’re entitled to, but some of life’s disasters can end up being for our benefit.

There are some lessons we can only understand in the aftermath of disaster and devastation. Natural disasters can teach us peace. We tend to think peace is when we have finished our work for the day, the house is clean and quiet, and our favourite movie is on; but that’s not peace; that’s calm. Life’s disasters have taught me that true peace comes with deep faith and trust, knowing that all will be well whichever way it turns out.

Hearing stories of people having to leave their homes reminded me that this world is not our home. Difficult diagnoses, deep grief and financial losses are reminders that this world is temporary. We’re often forced to let go of things that don’t matter in the long run. Fires can be difficult; even brutal. None of us are immune from the fires of life. While we don’t know how or when they will hit, inevitably they will come.

Fires occur naturally in some forests, particularly during dry periods, significant problems occur when these fires burn out of control. Natural forest fires do happen, but with proper planning and management, their risks and the consequent impact on the environment can be greatly reduced. When we are faced with disasters in our lives, we need to manage ourselves to reduce long term impact as well as trauma.

We need to ensure that our faith is always stronger than our fear, we need to not take things personally and we can come together as a community to support with damage control.

Related Story