Thursday, March 15, 2012

Beauty for ashes...

Yesterday was glorious...the sun was shining brightly, and the thermometer read 76 degrees by mid afternoon...

All day this verse was on my mind:

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...
to comfort all who mourn, 
and provide for those who grieve in Zion-
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, 
the oil of joy instead of mourning, 
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. 
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD 
for the display of His splendor."
Isaiah 61:1b-3

Our family has been grieving for the last few weeks as we said goodbye to our
Pop-pop...and it seemed like the gloom had settled in and made itself at home for a while...
and then yesterday, God gave us the sunshine for the second day in a row...reminding me of His promises... 


Here's how they work:
We give Him our broken hearts...He hands them back whole.
We mourn...He comforts us.
We cover our heads with ashes...He lifts the ashes and gives us crowns of beauty instead.
We grieve...He pours liquid joy on us.
We despair...He cloaks us in praise.
Then He stands back and smiles at us, firmly planted like an old oak tree that is rooted in His goodness. He smiles, and then he uses us...(little us!!) to display his splendor...

What a wonderful Maker...isn't He?


2 comments:

  1. He certainly is wonderful...wonderful at understanding, healing, giving us this finite thing we call 'time' so that the process doesn't go too quickly for our fragile human hearts. Your grieving for the amazing Pop-pop that He gave you even is a sign of praise. He wants to wipe away every tear from our eyes, sometimes we need to cry so we can experience His touch like that. I'll keep praying for you all. Love, me

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