Advent 2022 – Day 7
Saturday, December 3rd
Beauty From Ashes
By Mary Frances Carlson / Season of life: Retired Educator, enjoys traveling and growing roses
Scripture
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.
~ Isaiah 61:3, The Message
When you leave on a vacation and you are filled with excitement and anticipation, it never enters your mind that you will receive bad news. In February 2000, we were in Arizona when one of my husband’s co-workers called him to give bad news. On Sunday evening, a fire had broken out in the main building at Bryan College in my hometown of Dayton, TN. My first home was in that building where my parents had an apartment. My father was the President for 22 years, and his greatest concern was that the main building would never be finished.
Students, faculty, staff, and friends gathered in front of the building that night and
prayed, asking the Lord to save the building where they had classes and where faculty members had offices filled with vast collections of academic materials. One of the Biology professors had spent years collecting reptiles and other specimens. Everything in his “museum” was destroyed! Thankfully, only one faculty member’s office was ruined along with smoke damage to offices and other areas on the third floor.
If we read the Scriptures, we shouldn’t be surprised when grievous situations occur. We are told that we will have occasions to suffer. However, pain and problems bring us closer to Christ; without these experiences, we may never have a relationship with our Lord and Savior.
Prior to the Bryan fire, the main reason for grief in my life had been the death of my parents. My dear mother passed in 1999; she would have grieved, had she known about this tragic fire. Beauty from ashes brought complete restoration, and even the new Engineering Program, to the campus.
James 1:2-4 says in part, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” The result is that we will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. The beautiful hymn, “It is Well With My Soul,” comes to mind and can help during a time when we are grieving and experiencing sadness.
Closing Prayer
Precious Lord, help me to remember that you are sovereign and that even in
my trials and tribulations, you bring good out of everything. During times of suffering, may I remember that joy comes from ashes of adversity and that I will trust you and be grateful!
_________________________________________________
Reflections
In thinking through the hardships of your own life, where do you see
“beauty from ashes”?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Is there a relationship or area in your life where you hope for restoration? _____
If so, in what way could you play a part in the restoration?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lord God, may I “repeat the sounding joy” of who You are today!