Beauty instead of ashes

And provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and the garments of praise instead of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)

It never ceases to amaze me how God is able to give comfort just when we need it. The past couple of days have been extremely difficult for me because it is the anniversary of the death of my seventeen year old daughter. By days of the week, it was nine years ago Tuesday that she died, but nine years ago Wednesday that the police came to my door to tell me she was missing. But the actual date is May 23. Those days will be burned into my mind forever.

The beautiful part of the entire situation is that Liz is already in her eternity! She is walking those streets of gold, in total awe of our God! The comforting part of this situation is the total and complete miracle that God gave to us is His continual presence and grace in our lives. He has truly turned our mourning to gladness. Yes, the God of all comfort has been by our side
each moment of every day. He has allowed us to share our story with people across this nation, and we have seen lives forever changed.

The tears that we have shed have served many purposes. They have cleansed our hearts, allowed us to relieve the sorrow we have felt. The best thing that there is about those tears is that God holds all of our tears in a bottle. (Psalm 56:8) A few weeks ago I began the praying about these days and I was reminded of that scripture about God saving my tears. I asked the Lord just what His plans are for all of the tears that He holds for all of His people. I was very surprised when I received a response immediately. God spoke to my heart and reminded me of yet another scripture, where Jesus performed his first miracle. He turned the water into wine at the wedding at Cana. (John 2:1-11) Perhaps our tears will serve as the water turned into wine at the banquet table when we all join our heavenly Bridegroom in heaven. It's something to think about. Perhaps the next time you shed tears, whether tears of pain or tears of joy you'll think about the possibility of where they will go.

Lord, help us to put our trust in You even when we are in the midst of despair, knowing that not one tear will go un-noticed by You.

Becki Reiser