We live in a world of hiding. We would rather show everyone our picture perfect lives on social media than get into the real nitty gritty of life. We don’t want to show our struggles or issues because we fear being judged, even by those we love. What if we were the ones that change the way the world sees “real”? What if we were honest in our heartbreaks, grief, and sadness? What if we really did bear one another’s burdens? Not for the sake of gossip or slander or to make us look like we have it all together, but to show realness to one another. Real life, real hurt, real joy.
Real life can be hard y’all. Everything can be going really well for a while and then it seems as though the rug is pulled out from under us. My family is going through some real and hard things right now. And although we’re not sure what the outcome may be, we know that we serve a mighty God. A mighty God who loves us and is with us through every step of life. And though things are hard right now, I’ve been able to witness God working in our family throughout this storm. Tonight, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I had the family I’ve been praying for us to be. Tonight, a cousin told me how her family came together to really pray for the things going on around us and that has only happened a select few times in her life.
Stormy seasons of life happen more often than what anyone wants to admit. And while these times are hard and we feel like we’re drowning and that it will never end, God is working things together for our good. He doesn’t allow these things to happen because He’s trying to punish us. In those dark and stormy moments, He’s showing us how much we’re not in control and that He is. As I said earlier, a stormy season is once again among us. But I will say it again and again and again, until I have no voice, until I crash from exhaustion: God is still good. Jesus is still on the throne, and He will be praised in the storm.
Things are not always good. Things are not always happy. Sometimes we go through storms, but because we serve a good and mighty God who will show us the rainbow afterwards. We serve a God that makes beauty from ashes.
“For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, like heat in a dry place.”
Isaiah 25:4-5a ESV
Beauty in the Ashes 