Isaiah 61:1-4God sent me to announce the year of his grace—
a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—
and to comfort all who mourn,
To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,
give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,
Messages of joy instead of news of doom,
a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.
Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness"
planted by God to display his glory.
They'll rebuild the old ruins,
raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They'll start over on the ruined cities,
take the rubble left behind and make it new.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Every holiday season, we hear news reports about a house fire during the holidays. Just this past week, a home burned in our county, and area churches rallied to provide for the family – clothing, cleaning supplies, physical labor, and more. On the morning of December 20, 1981, my grandmother was frying sausage on her stove, preparing breakfast for herself and my grandfather before they dressed for church. My grandfather had been outside checking on his cattle. Mam-ma thought she heard sleet on their tin roof, but a glimpse out her kitchen window revealed sunshine.
My grandfather came through the door and told my Mam-ma that their house was on fire. Ironically, she turned off the burner under her sausage, then she began grabbing clothing from dresser drawers, as my grandfather hurried to move their car and truck from the carport and away from the house. A passerby stopped and helped remove items from the house as it burned… a small living room chair, the mantel clock, the family Bible and a few photos, and most of my grandparents’ clothing. They didn’t think to get wallets, eye glasses, the quilt rack in the front bedroom that held probably a half dozen of my grandmother’s hand-made creations, or even the Christmas presents sitting under the tree just inside the front door.
At the end of the day, the home my grandparents had occupied for 47 years was reduced to smoldering cinders. The fire was so hot that even the cast-iron skillets and claw-footed bath tub were reduced to ashes. This fire was determined to be due to some old faulty wiring… not a truly Christmas-related disaster. And I have shared this story before… how the churches and our community rallied to help my grandparents rebuild… how my dad called on his construction contacts to get a new house built as quickly as possible and people “pounded” my grandparents with necessary household staples and more.
I’ve talked about the yard full of petunias that rose the following spring where the old farmhouse once sat… a true “beauty for ashes” trade. But what I have not really talked about directly is the impact that the fire had on my entire family. Whether we realize it or not, that day was a huge turning point for us. It signaled the end of an era… the only home for my grandparents that I, my sister and brother had ever known. The fire resulted in the loss of countless treasures… mere things… and a greater realization of what really mattered, as we counted our blessings that my grandmother and grandfather both escaped safely.
Even though the new house and many of the replacement items were far nicer than what my grandparents had previously owned, it wasn’t the same… ever. And in thinking about this day again… as I do every December 20th… I was struck by how this correlates for us spiritually. See, we all have “fires” in our lives… moments or events or seasons that define us… change us… move us in a new direction. And these are often hard, devastating, gut-wrenching changes that grieve us and truly break our hearts – and sometimes our emotional spirit.
But God stands ready to give us “bouquets of roses for ashes”… to restore us, repair our hearts, rebuild our spirit. Sometimes, He even gives us something better to replace what was taken from us… or at least something equally wonderful. I told you that my grandparents were not ones to question “Why me?” but rather to look ahead and ask “What next?” – and as I look at my now-98-year-old grandmother and think of all of the things she has endured and how she persevered, I see another “lesson.”
God is not in the business of punishing us… or making us suffer to “teach us a lesson.” When we are in pain, He is in pain. When we grieve, He grieves. When our heart breaks, His heart breaks for us. But God can do something about all of this. He truly is the only One who can really fix things… and He wants to do this for us. But we have to trust Him. We have to let Him work. We have to ask Him, “What next?” and mean it. We have to open our eyes and see His beauty in the ashes…and we have to be grateful to Him for doing this for us.
Where is God trying to give you a bouquet of roses for ashes? Where are you blocking His efforts? In what ways do you need to move aside and let Him work? Examine your heart and your life today… find your “fires” and sift through the “ashes.” See what God has in store for you, and give Him room to do His work.
©2010 Debbie Robus
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