Beauty Instead Of Ashes

I've shared with you guys before the quote on our kitchen rug: Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....it's about learning to dance in the rain. There are all sorts of verses and quotations that people offer when you're going through a tough time. Make lemons out of lemonade... All things work for good... Everything is made beautiful in His time, etc., etc. It's certainly not that these things aren't true, but when you're in the midst of the storm, you can sometimes want to punch the person who says that to you. Or maybe that's just the hostility in me. :)

Anyway, I am currently volunteering in the Divorce Care ministry at my church, helping lead a group of people who are in the very beginning stages of their separation/divorce. It has been a difficult, rewarding, fascinating and humbling experience so far, and we still have a couple of months to go. I have already learned a lot, and it's been interesting to go through this class this far into my journey with divorce. I actually went through the class initially as a participant several months after my divorce, and it has been a drastically different experience to go through it this time around. I watch the videos with a much different perspective, and I have been encouraged in my own journey through this time.

One of the most awesome things for me has been seeing where God has brought me. The people in my group are very raw, hurting deeply, in the deepest part of their storm. I remember being there myself. But enough time has gone by that I sometimes forget where I really did start from. I forget how much God has healed me and how far He has brought me. Then I show up on a Tuesday night and realize all over again that all of those cliches that can sound so trite really are true. He has worked all things for my good and His glory. I have learned (and am still learning) what it means to dance in the rain. My very favorite "saying" comes from Isaiah 61. This is the passage Jesus quoted when He showed up on earth to explain His purpose:

"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 freedom to the captives..." The passage goes on to say, "To comfort all who mourn...giving them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning..."

I love that phrase, beauty instead of ashes. It's true, you know. Jesus really does take the ashes out of our lives - from whatever storms may come along - and He makes beauty. When you're in the midst of the storm, it's often impossible to believe that anything beautiful can come from it. But that's one of the coolest parts about a group like Divorce Care - I can share that hope with those in that place. Because even though it seemed impossible, God has given me beauty instead of ashes. And I am so grateful He has.

I took this picture the other day. We were having a storm - I love how you can see where the rain was actually falling. But what I love even more is how it looks like the rainbow originates from the storm itself. Such a cool picture that represents an amazing gift that God offers to us - beauty instead of ashes - sometimes even when the storm is still happening.