“They gave me a box of pantyhose.” – Donna Sansbury

From Ashes

“They gave me a box of pantyhose.”  Donna Sansbury said.  “I could only drive five miles at a time, then I’d have to stop to remove the panty hose, from covering the air filter in my car, and replace it with one from the box, before I could drive forward.”

Donna’s father was ill when Mount St. Helens erupted.  She was living in the Tri-Cities, Washington then.  Her mother, grandmother and father were living deeper in the ash cloud than she was, so she went to bring them out to where their health would be less compromised.

“When I got there my mother and grandmother would not leave.  They were afraid of leaving their home under the ash.”  Donna continued.

She explained.  Volcano ash isn’t like smoke.  It is more like gravel raining from the sky.  It’s heavy.  That meant that her mother needed to climb up on the roof of their home and other outbuildings to shovel the ash off or the buildings may have collapsed under the weight.  It was a time of emergency, trial and darkness.

“It was a dark time.  In fact, the ash cloud made the daytime as dark as midnight!” Donna expanded.

And, that falling ash wasn’t the only trail the people of the region had been facing.  The Tri-Cities area was known for growing some of the best apples in the world.  Yet, over the few years prior to the eruption apple quality had waned.

“The soil had become too saline.  So much so that it began to negatively affect plant growth, resulting in reduced crop yield and even plant death under the severe conditions.”  Donna explained.  “The ground around the apple trees was cracked and a white salt border surrounded each crack.  Even the once lush grass in our yards turned brown and died!”

Then her eyes brightened as she explained what wonderous things happened after the ash had fallen.

“The ash delivered new alkalinity to the soil.  It counteracted the saline conditions and soon the apples were beautiful and flavorful again!  Our lawns were suddenly lush once more.  And, a new industry was born; pottery from volcano ash.  Increased quality of life arose from the ashes of disaster!” Donna brightly revealed.

She knows quite a bit more about struggling with adversity as well.  She’s fought cancer on at least two occasions.  And, during each battle she’s focused on the good she knows will, with certainty, arise from facing and overcoming tragedy.

“Difficulty creates great character and exceptional people!”  Donna reminds everyone who is struggling through personal challenge.  “It’s the ash that acts as unexpected nourishment!”

“They gave me a box of pantyhose to counter falling ash.”  Donna Sansbury said.  “I could only drive five miles at a time, then I’d have to stop to remove the panty hose, from covering the air filter in my car, and replace it with one from the box before I could drive forward. Ash-filled pantyhose is heavy!”

Knowing that ash-filled-times are a forerunner of more than just a bleak and heavy burden can help you and me during dark times, as we struggle forward.  After all, Donna has been through volcanic ash clouds and cancer to become a model of how facing and subjugating darkness can pave the way for enhanced living.

It’s the ash in life that acts as unexpected nourishment for creating hope as well as a path to become a great people.