Beauty In Ashes

Isaiah 61:3

New International Version (NIV)

³ 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 me, this verse is so encouraging in light of the last week with the Waldo Canyon Fire here in Colorado Springs. We've had fear, fire, ashes, mourning, and despair. Yet, we also have a crown of beauty in sunrises, the oil of joy that all was not destroyed, a garment of praise that God was so merciful to so many people in so many small ways, and that we will recover and will return as oaks, a planting of the Lord.

I've had such a gamut of emotions over the last week that my heart almost short-circuited in the effort to keep up. I finally just let go and let the emotions come and go as they would, trusting God would lead me safely to the other side. How can a heart contain sorrow and mourning concurrently with relief, joy and praise? I don't know.

In the course of the last week I've had some surprise moments of beauty and joy that seemed like little notes of reassurance that all will be well for us all.  

The first surprise I had was while at a Habitat for Humanity Re-Sale store in Salida. We ran in out of the rain. Alan went straight to building supplies and I was delighted to find a whole section of the store with pretty things such as dishes, decorative items, afghans and shawls. I turned a corner and before me was an entire set of Mother's Desert Rose pattern dishes!   A sugar bowl and creamer sat on top like a gift just for me. I almost burst into tears right on the spot.

Sugar bowl & creamer in their new home.

(I'm a freakishly emotional person. There is no rhyme or reason to it.) The dishes seemed to bring to me my Mother's presence and comfort. It was a day when I needed Mother's comfort and reassurance. No matter how old I am, sometimes I need that. I bought those dishes. I rarely make impulse purchases, but I did then!  I also found a mini candy dish just like a bigger one that sat on Daddy and Mother's TV set and...I bought that too. It made me smile.

Smiles in a tiny dish...

In the mail on Saturday I received more yarn that I had ordered the week before the fire began. I'll show it later. I don't wish to overwhelm you with surprises. Besides that, I think if I'm not careful I'll be seen as one of those crazy yarn ladies with a huge stash and future projects lined up like planes on the runway at DIA. (That assumption about me would be correct, but that's beside the point!)

I don't collect things usually, except for yarn. I don't like clutter. I get claustrophobic. I love beautiful things, especially nature, but ordinarily I admire beauty where I see it and go home. Last week, however, my beautiful surprises brought joy and comfort in days fraught with fears and sorrows. These surprises made me stop and breathe a moment. I'll always cherish them as part of the mashup of memories and emotions of the Waldo Canyon Fire. Beauty in ashes....