Beauty in the Ashes

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“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11a

READ:

We don’t know. Pause there for just a moment. We don’t know what our suffering will mean for us as we move forward, as we learn to integrate our griefs and losses into our lives. There is the potential for trauma and heartache, yes, but there is the potential for post-traumatic growth. We don’t entirely know how our losses will impact us. But we do know that regardless of what happens, God is good, He makes beautiful things from our pain, and He has a plan—even if we can’t fully understand it. This verse in Ecclesiastes, possibly written by King Solomon, challenges our minds to think outside the box, outside of our pain. Circumstances that to our own eye could never be “good” or “beautiful” can be made beautiful by God—in His time. In grief, time seems to crawl by moment-by-moment, especially when we are in “survival mode,” reeling from the heartache and loss we’ve endured. Yet, Scripture tells us that God has made everything beautiful. Note how the Amplified Bible, relays these truths in its commentary on Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.” Beauty in the ashes. Beauty in the pain. Beauty even when the world and our own bodies, hearts, and minds cannot fathom it to exist. Scripture reminds us that God has indeed given us a sense of divine purpose in our hearts, a deeply rooted idea of eternity, a longing that nothing can satisfy aside from God. This is a reality that our babies are enjoying right now—life as it was intended in the presence of our Heavenly Father. We will never be able to fully comprehend or understand God’s ways, what He’s done, allowed, and ordained. But perhaps our goal shouldn’t be to understand. What if, instead, we leaned not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6), and sought to recognize the beauty in our pain, however big or small.

REFLECT:

1. In what ways have you seen beauty around you and within you in the midst of your grief?
2. How might you remind yourself that, even in your sorrow and pain, beauty can be found too?
3. In what ways do you hope to see God at work in your story as your grief unfolds and you continue to experience new layers of healing.
4. What thoughts come to mind as you consider the mysteries of God and your own longing for eternity?

JOURNAL:

Take a moment to write down the things, big or small, that are beautiful in your life right now. Considering that the sense of eternity in your heart is something that God placed within you, how does your longing for heaven provide greater connection to your baby(ies) in glory?

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Lauren is a part-time working mama to Isaac and two babies in heaven as well as her boys Samuel and Nathanael at home in Colorado. She is a mental health therapist, recovering perfectionist, and truth be told, often feels overwhelmed as she tries again and again to reorient herself to live life as God intended. Lauren loves all things that bring out a deep belly laugh and tears to her eyes, really (good) hot coffee, Kansas sunsets, trail runs, and being with others who can share in both the joys and sorrows of life. Would you like to contribute a piece of writing to the Hope Mommies blog? We invite you to submit here!

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