Can Beauty Come Out of Ashes?

Imagine for a moment being wrapped in total darkness. The smell of smoke from all that has been reduced to ashes lingers in the air. Simultaneously, you feel the heat of your surroundings and the coldness of isolation. Everything that once was is no longer. Imagine rummaging through the darkness trying to salvage anything of value. Frantically searching for something to cling to, anything with an inkling of security, you lose your footing as your very foundation crumbles under your feet. Life has spontaneously combusted. Suddenly, you have lost the sense of safety because everything that was secure and steady has now gone sideways. When complete devastation has become your reality, you sit head in hands with no audible words but crying out from the depths of your inner being. "God, help me!" How can something beautiful emerge from these gray, smoldering ashes?

God often gives us answers in the natural to things that occur in us either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. The volcano is an accurate representation of human character, behavior, and life experiences. Inside a volcano intense pressure causes earth plates to move and intense heat causes the volcanic rock to form. So, you have the repetitive scenario of intense heat and intense pressure, heat and pressure, heat and pressure, causing a sometimes-violent eruption spewing rocks, gas, and ash that destroys everything in its path. Volcanic activity can trigger floods, landslides, tsunamis, and forest fires.

Isn't that life sometimes? Things come our way in an almost domino effect. One incident seems to set off a chain of troublesome events. We've all heard and likely used the old clichés, "When it rains, it pours. If it's not one thing, it's another," and so on. Truly, this has been my story for nearly nine months. I felt trapped in the wearisome pattern of intense heat and intense pressure. Then one glorious day, I ran across this scripture in Isaiah and my spirit leaped within me! In chapter 66:9, our Father promises, "I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born." Nine fatiguing months of immense pressure comparable to labor pains would produce something new inside of me. Something beautiful would emerge from so much anguish.

Did you know, volcanic ash is full of elements and nutrients that regenerate the soil and often develop into some of the richest agricultural lands on the earth? Beautiful flowers spring forth in brilliant reds, yellows, and purples. Combined with other particles propelled into the atmosphere, ash creates brilliant sunsets all around the world. Volcanic activity reshaped landscapes and formed some of the most beautiful islands in Hawaii. So yes, dear friends, beauty can most definitely come from ashes.

Isaiah 61:3, "...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."

To God be the Glory!