The Power of Resurrection

Hello!

One of the greatest delights of time is being able to watch something progress. Even when something might not be noticeable on a daily basis, over a span of time, those minute adjustments that occur daily and hourly compound into significant changes. This was my experience this past week.

Bison at Gibbon River

I can remember the first time I ever walked through Mammoth Hot Springs. It was three summers ago, and I nearly wept. After reading numerous books that depicted this hill of collective hot springs in terraces of orange, yellow, and white, I discovered the majority of these springs to have dried up, leaving its grey terraces to be trampled by herds of elk and bison. Finding the hillside grey and scarred was jarring; all that remained were a few hot springs that showed signs of receding water. This was confirmed the following year when I returned to Mammoth; of all the remaining hot springs, many of them were in recession with ash-white terraces like sepulchers. It seemed as though after centuries of prominence and fame, I was witnessing Mammoth’s demise. 

Palette Spring 

(The ash white are dried terraces)

My first visit to Mammoth this year was met with delight. Several springs that were in recession were slowly improving. This was a great encouragement to me, as I was not prepared to watch mammoth die completely. As I walked the hill of former hot springs, little had changed: broken terraces were strewn across the hill, beaten down by migrating herds. As I had followed the progress of this hill for four years now, the signs of decay were no longer shocking. 

Mound Spring (Former Mound Spring behind)

Despite all the discouragement, there was a small glimmer of hope. Three years ago there was a new hot spring called Mound Spring. Geologists explained that the former Mound Spring, which had dried up, had created a new channel in a low niche off of the former giant. I reckoned the new Mound Spring with a slight degree of disdain, as this was evidence that the former hot spring would never be able to regain its former glory. It was a leech that drained the life supply of its predecessor. While the former mound had developed a system of terraces and channels, the new hot spring held little definition beyond the thermal bacteria growing in its stream. The following year, the spring was developing some basic terraces, but it remained primarily a stream of thermal water. 

New Mound Spring Terrace

As I ventured further up the terraces to where Mound Spring is located, I rounded a corner to discover that over the past three years, the new Mound Spring has matured into a glowing series of cascading terraces and pools, colored in yellows, reds, oranges, whites, and even some green—not from algae, but from thermal bacteria! Though surrounded by decay, here was a spring that overcame its surrounding death and was thriving. It was such a majestic sight that I spent nearly half an hour staring at it, projecting how the entire hill might look like what this small spring reflected.

Angel Terrace

It is amazing how something small and progressively slow affects me. Three summers ago, I was crushed at the widespread death that had swallowed up Mammoth Hot Springs. The following year, I reported that the springs had receded even further, following the processes of nature. In a situation where the facts of life indicated that the glory days of the hot springs were lingering, I determined that I would cherish the little that remained, but inwardly I would still yearn to have seen it in its fullness. The only power that is more incredible than life is resurrection—reversing the natural progression of decay, brokenness, and death to bring life, healing and renewal to places where hope was lost. I have experienced this personally through the gift of Jesus Christ, and have witnessed it in multitudes of friends and family—ways I have come to regularly expect—but to see this happen within the realms of God’s natural world, where I do not expect this—only heightens my hope in God’s ability to restore all things and make all things new again.