Unexpected Beauty and Joy

 A few days ago I looked out my window in the early dawn and saw the branches of the dark fir  trees pressed against a sky of gold. 

Suddenly my mind takes me back to the day our house was so badly damaged in the 1962 Columbus Day storm. The roof over our living room and kitchen had been rolled up like a scroll and tossed into the neighbor's field, shattered windows left shards of glass covering our floors.

The months that  followed were difficult; I was pregnant with my fourth child and money was scarce as we repaired the roof, windows and walls.  It was all we could do to purchase food and the supplies we needed to live. 

That was when a friend slipped a ten dollar bill into my hand; "You need to do something for you, Eva  Use this to get yourself something beautiful to give you joy."

The Sunday after that our little country church on the hill had a guest speaker; a WW2 veteran whose airplane had been shot down  during active combat over Germany. This man escaped capture by hiking across Europe.  Back home he felt led to give his life to traveling across the United  States, telling his true-life stories of God's miracles.

As my family and I got ready to leave, I strongly sensed  God wanted me to give this man my 10 dollar bill. I hesitated, but the feeling wouldn't go away; I walked over to where he stood at the door with his Bible in hand.

"For you," I said, as I gave him my gift.  Although God gave me peace and joy at that moment it was no comparison to the joy I felt when received a letter from several months later. 

"Dear Sister, I experienced a great blessing and thank both God and you for it; These past few weeks have been difficult for me and this morning I woke to the realization that the only thing in my cupboard was 2 cans of corn. But I couldn't eat it because I had a medical issue;  First I prayed and then I reached for the old Bible I used when I spoke at your church. I opened it and there on the page lay the ten dollars you gave me that Sunday morning." 

After I read the letter, I wrote on the page in the front of my Bible, "It is more blessed to give than to receive. Lord, I don't want to ever forget."

Have you ever felt a nudge to do something out of the ordinary?  Or to give, when you are in extreme need yourself?  Pay attention.  When a person is obedient to God's direction—miracles happen.  Sometimes we get a glimpse of what God was doing, yet in other circumstances, we may never know. But there is always a blessing when we are obedient to our mighty Creator. 

My friend had told me to use her gift for something beautiful--something which would bring me joy.  In my obedience to the Lord, I found both beauty and joy.

Isaiah 55:12 - "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

Transformed

Our God is a faithful Creator who "makes all things works for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28) As I lingered over those verses a question formed in my heart.

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"Lord," I asked. "Do you really transform despair into beauty? You made that promise when you said you had been sent ". . . to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61:3)

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And suddenly I remembered the ancient pickup truck my husband parked in the back yard outside the kitchen window. He told me and the kids to throw our garbage and discards into it, so he could drive it to the dump. It didn't take us long to fill that old pickup with smashed plastic jugs, rusted pipes and cans, tattered clothes and crushed cardboard. But then that old pick up wouldn't start.

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And so it sat.

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For months, every time I prepared meals or cleaned the kitchen, I'd look out the window and see that dented vehicle with its ton of garbage. I hated the sight--the disorderly ugliness grated my spirit.

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Winter came and one night it snowed. I went into the kitchen to make hot chocolate and someone turned on the porch light. I looked out the window.

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Huge snowflakes drifted down and light reflected off the pick up windows. Ugly cans, frayed sponge rubber, a rusted mattress, all were frosted in an intricate design of white fringed with black.

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It made me want to cry.

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That old, ugly pickup with its mess of garbage had been transformed into beauty.

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I'll never forget that precious picture of God's grace. That long ago night He showed me, in a new way, His power to transform ugly circumstances and situations into beauty.

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Since then I've seen Him do the same for people who've been bruised and scarred. Yes, our faithful Creator has power to bring forth hope and beauty from ashes and despair.

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He's done it before. He can do it again.