2011.010 "Beauty for Ashes"

This morning I step aside from my usual silliness and whimsy for some gentle reflection.

A little retrospective: To say that 2009 was a year of great heartache and loss for my family is completely insufficient for the difficulties we endured. So great was our pain that at times it was hard to just breathe; let alone put one foot in front of the other and move forward. Even with only the tiniest of gains in recovery we did survive and as we entered 2010 it promised, if nothing else, to be a year of greater peace and healing. That's exactly what it was too. 365 days of quiet, rest, peace and restoration. There were days when I wondered if we'd ever start to gain ground again but most of the time it was a blessing to just rest and wait for the things to come.

That brings me to 2011 and how, despite it being only the second full week of the year, already there have been some amazing things that have happened. I look back over the past 18 months and see quite clearly the path my little family and I have been walking. We climbed a treacherous mountain and rested in a peaceful valley. Now, it seems, it is at last time for new adventures.

These experiences remind me of the bible passage in Isaiah 61 that says he will give beauty for ashes. My life and the lives of my children were shaken and burned down to the ground. It would have been easy to have given up and stayed there among the ashes of that dark, cold place and believe it would never get any better. However we are not weak in faith, spirit, or heart so we waited patiently knowing we would see brighter days.

Thinking about this journey inspired today's piece which I have named "Beauty for Ashes".

Beauty for Ashes - 12x12 digipaint

Never give up...never give in!

~ Lisa

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