I live in Colorado Springs. This week has been a devastating time for many in our 
community. Last summer we were dealt a severe blow by the Waldo Canyon fire that swept through the western foothills and destroyed 347 homes and killed two elderly people. This week 389 homes have been destroyed so far and another couple killed as they were attempting evacuate their home in the Black Forest fire just few miles north of our home. In both fires, more than 100 families who lost their homes we part of our church.
The fire isn’t over yet, though it has been greatly slowed by the tireless and resolute efforts of some amazing firefighters, law enforcement personnel, a lot of volunteers, and now a welcome rain shower. Still, as I view the ashes of so many burned homes and the blackened forests in the Black Forest (that’s literal description now), I am thankful for the incredible outpouring of public support and involvement by people of all ages. The same thing occurred in the devastation in Moore, OK recently, hurricane Sandy, and other natural disasters this past few years.
Whenever tragedies like these strike, we have a chance to witness the flood of assistance that streams from every generation to those directly impacted by such calamity. The stories indicate they find great strength through such compassionate action on the part of complete strangers–young and old. This is when beauty truly emerges from the ashes.
Part of the beauty that I saw emerge from those ashes was the generations working together. The things that often separate us generationally in everyday life seemed to be irrelevant in an environment of crisis. Everyone simply stood shoulder to shoulder and worked together to bring hope to others.
Can you imagine what would happen if that beauty was on display all the time, not just when a crisis strikes? A crisis reminds us what is possible when we stop thinking about ourselves and focus on others. It is in those moments that true inter-generational relationships take on purpose and meaning. We were designed to function that way, with all our flaws and all our differences, because we are family. The beauty rising from the ashes is bringing hope in a crushing circumstance. But it is also people of all kinds–young and old–working together for a common cause. Surely there are causes other than tragedy that can bring us together as well. Let’s look for those.
So, why do you think we find it so easy to focus on our differences when there is no major public crisis? What would we need to do to work together and do life together generation to generation? Share some of your thoughts and ideas on the common causes for which we could link arms and negate the generation gap.
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