Beauty for Ashes

Isaiah 61:1-7 
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them beauty for ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the priests of the LORD;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
Everlasting joy will be theirs.

This morning as I was spending time with my sweetheart she told me about how she had a family of finches in one of our birdhouses.

She gets so much joy from the birds we have on our property.

We have a bit of a wildlife refuge and a bit of the best earth gives.

Our home backs onto 1600 acres of farm property and she had me put many trees on the property. It is full of birds.

The appearance of this little finch family was especially precious as she has been going through a very hard time in her life in some of her other relationships.

As I was thinking about what she had told me I thought of the scripture that says He gives us "beauty for ashes." 

How like God to do that! In the midst of terrible situations he makes sure the flowers still grow and the birds sing so that we can know that somewhere beyond our present situation there is hope for the future to be brighter than today.

Hope is the beauty He most often gives me for the ashes of my present life. Hope is beautiful. The little finches gobbling up the food their mom is bringing is the hope of the future for her and today for my beloved.

It reminded me of a story I once heard Corrie Ten Boom tell. She was visiting Oral Roberts University where I did my B.A. She was telling us about how she learned in the darkness of a life in a prison camp in Nazi ruled Germany that there was "No pit so deep that God was not deeper still."

She said the horror of the camp could not keep the beauty of God from coming forth. She related to us that his beauty in creation led her in one of the most horrible moments of her life. She said that she had to report to a prison administrator to go over her crimes and to be supervised.

The first day they reported they brought the prisoners into an open area where there were several huts that served as the offices of the administrators. On hut had a window box with flowers in it. She chose that administrator to report to. She said that she knew that in order for him to still plant and care for things of beauty that he had to have a part of his heart that had not been darkened by the horror that surrounded him.

She was right about him and he did help her while she was in that place. But the thing that I marveled at was how God's beauty invaded the darkness like a beacon of light to guide her to His protection. It still does the same today.

The beauty of the creation tells us of a greater beauty. It tells us of the one who its beauty comes from. The greatest beauty we can be given in the midst of these terrible ashes is God Himself. As we journey through death's valley He is with us. He is the true beauty of life.

Today my beloved tended the flowers in her garden and fed her birds. She knows the darkness is here. She feels the ashes of torched expectations. But she also knows that in the midst of the worst that life can give there is one who will always  give Himself - the fountain of all beauty - for the ashes the world gives.