Not long ago I became aware that you could bleach pine cones. Needless to say, I thought this was a great idea. East Texas is abundant with pine cones, so I thought I might just try bleaching them. The photographs that I have seen of them are beautiful and many make wreathes, door hangings with the bleached pine cones, or use them in floral displays the year round. They take some time to bleach, but the end result is worthwhile.
When I submerged my pine cones in water, I had no idea they would close. When I saw them, I looked back at the instructions to see if I had gone through the process correctly, but they didn’t say they would close. After twenty-four hours of bleaching, I removed them to dry, just to see what would happen to them. It took several days, but as the days passed, I noticed again the pine cones were opening, and they had turned out beautifully.
How like our lives those pine cones are when troubles come to us. When submerged into trouble, sorrow, and grief, we can’t see anything beyond, nor a brighter day. Our hearts are sorely troubled, and we then wonder why the world goes on spinning, people passing by, life continues to go on, and they don’t stop for us in our hour of despair. Don’t they know we hurt? Don’t they care? Those were my thoughts after the death of my husband. I tended to close myself off from the world, just as the pine cones closed, not wanting any interaction with too many people.
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
We all react to grief and troubles differently, but I believe we are not that much different from one another, just as the pine cones when they were shocked by the bleach. After time passes, we like they begin to open. All are different and react to pain and grief distinctly, closing and opening at differing times.
“O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast heard me.” Psalms 30:5
“. . . .weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalms 30:5
As the tears dry and the acceptance of what once was are now just memories, we begin to open to others, and life becomes easier. Our souls are changed through the process of grief and we become beautiful. We become different, more attune to those that suffer grief and loss. We become more understanding of others who are placed in the same circumstances. Just as the pine cones are changed through the shock of being bleached and became beautiful when dried, we become beautiful souls through grief.
“Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. Sometimes it hurts, but when you are real, you don’t mind being hurt. It doesn’t happen all at once. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all. When you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand. Once you are Real, you can’t become unreal again It lasts for always.” ~ Margery Williams
Eileen Light