Beauty For Ashes

 If you are familiar at all with the Bible, you know or have heard of the verse that talks about beauty for ashes......Isaiah 61:3 " To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair." Beauty for ashes defines our hope. Because of Jesus, we no longer sit in the ashes of our own sins or sins against us. He causes us to rise again from the rubble and despair....He saves, he gives, he loves, and he renews. Ashes in the Bible symbolize mourning and can represent wounds or places in life where people are prone to despair such as death, heartache, despair, sickness and disease, and many other things. God wants to take your mourning and replace it with the oil of gladness, He wants to take your spirit of despair and turn it into a garment of praise. You can see, reading through these posts that He is faithful and He has done this for me EVERY TIME. God doesn't play favorites and He WILL do for you what He's done for me! It takes effort from you though too, and by effort, I don't mean striving. You aren't going to beg or "work" for something that's already been provided for you, but you can't sit idly and do nothing like God is some genie in a bottle. You have to be open, willing, teachable, and trust Him. If you don't know God and what I am talking about, the way to do so is spending time with Him in the Word and through prayer. I am beyond grateful that I was raised in a Christian home being taught these things and about God's character. My parents helped give me a strong foundation and that foundation is what has held me all these years, but also continuing to grow this foundation. The main reason I am the woman I am today is because of that and also action on my own part. Faith is an action word and God can't do all the work for you, neither can your pastor, your parents, or anyone else. 

I didn't become the woman I am and weather my own torturous storms of life by some secret potion or mysterious ritual. All of my life experiences have helped shape me, but its how I handled these experiences from the wisdom and knowledge gained from remaining open and teachable. In yesterday's blog I mentioned not just blowing through adversity but also growing through those adversities. You can't just simply endure, you have to learn from the storms you go through. These experiences aren't just limited to my own, they can come from personal loss, financial hardship, surviving failed relationships, the loss of a job, and so much more. Having said that, it's not the hardship itself that shapes you, it's also largely dependent upon your responses to them. You can possess the ability to transform pain into strength and failures into wisdom. Adversity in life is pretty much a teacher in disguise, you just have to be open to learning and not harden your heart because of the adversity.  

There will be times in life you feel alone, but trust me, you're not. Hear me out........in the times of quiet, solitude, and even loneliness you will find that it's a great time for self-discovery and growth. You've got to get to a healthy place in your life where you're okay with your own company and not only that, learn to enjoy it. I love quiet time as it's an opportunity for reflection, understanding your emotions, and staying connected to your inner self. Solitude is not loneliness, it's a time for you to find wisdom and strength as well as self-awareness and growth.

Learn to view failure differently and doing so will be doing yourself a favor. Failure is not a dead-end, it's just a detour and you can use it as a learning tool. A mistake is just proof that you're trying and challenging boundaries [ in a healthy way ].  You've heard it said before, "You only fail if you quit," and it's so true!

My life experiences have significantly grown my level of gratitude, empathy, love, and compassion for others. Everyone is fighting battles we know nothing about. Compassion works full circle too as it not only lifts the person you are extending it to, but it also lifts your spirits too. Don't ever give in any way shape or form with expectation of getting something in return because that just becomes selfishness disguised as a good deed. Never underestimate the value of humility, empathy, and love. Two of the greatest needs I have seen is the need for empathy and love. You are helping others to not feel so alone and I know that at the times when I dealt with those emotions, nothing helped more than those who came along side me to get me through it. 

I hope that in sharing what I have learned that it will help you, empower you, and teach you how to handle life in healthy ways and how you can turn around and use that wisdom gained from your own hardships to help others. Be love, be compassion, and help make an impact on someone else's life.