Life, Inextinguishable

On January 24, 2026, Nashville had an ice storm. Almost half an inch of ice accumulated on trees, and the weight of the ice took down thousands of trees -- and the power lines with them. At the peak of the storm, 230,000 people in the area were without power. And restoring the electricity took 10 days for a number of people.

And then the clean-up started. For weeks and weeks, there were piles of branches on the sides of the road. It was only in the last two weeks that the city finished picking up the debris. City officials report that 54 million cubic feet of vegetation was collected. That would fill up over 600 Olympic sized swimming pools. (Source: WKRN.)

Sometime in March, as Spring was beginning to emerge, I walked beside a pile of brush waiting to be picked up by the city. And I noticed that the branches were starting to push out buds. These branches, cut off from the tree for over a month, were still full of life.

I told this story last month at our final session of Spirituality in Practice, a new hybrid-style offering from the Academy for Spiritual Formation. The forsythia branches in the flower arrangement on our worship table reminded me. The flowers on the branches had fallen off, and green leaves were emerging. Emerging on these shoots, cut off from their roots, but still very much alive.

I find myself needing, these days images of hope and resilience in these dire times. This life within us -- may it be inextinguishable.

Consider participating in The Academy for Spiritual Formation! Applications are now open for the next two-year offering.