Oklahoma City Survivors Remember, Using Symbol of Triumph

Can you believe it's been 13 years since the Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 dead? I can't.

http://newsok.com/article/3232592/1208660100

As I read the account of survivors and families of the dead pausing to remember, I was struck by a symbol of triumph these individuals used.  Each family was offered seedlings, each sprouted from the Survivor Tree, an American elm that survived the bombing. 

You know what?  That metaphor has power for each of us as we go through the difficulties of life.  While there may be many painful losses, contained within that experience are the seeds of new growth.  Yet, they won't grow unless they are planted.

I so admire the people I've worked with over the years who not only managed to deal with their own recovery from tragic events, they went a step further. They took those experiences, learned valuable lessons on resilience, then reached out to help others with compassion, grace, and wisdom.  They did not waste their suffering.  They planted the seeds their adversity had yielded to produce green growth in others as well as themselves.

William Ward said, "Adversity causes some people to break; others to break records."

Dr. Bev