OUT OF THE ASHES

ASHES. Ashes everywhere. And with that loss..loss of mementos, cherished snapshots of JOY,..the place once called home. Wether rich or poor, the fire took everything. The feelings of grief, loss, hopelessness hit them all. And it wasn’t just the people who suffered. It was also wildlife who lost there homes and for many, there very lives. Entire communities are gone. And the fires are still raging. It is incomprehensible to begin to feel what they are feeling and to share words of comfort. As I prayed to the Lord before writing this blog I asked the question “ how can words comfort those who have lost everything?” His answer? “ Out of the ashes comes new life”. When a forest burns down it undergoes a process called ecological succession; it is when the land regrows new vegetation, small in the beginning, but eventually it is brought back, fuller and stronger than it was before the fire. People who suffer a catastrophic event come to a fork in the road. They will need to make a decision; do I rebuild or let go? This question isn’t just for those effected by the fire. It is also for each of us in our own lives. At some point we all have suffered our own losses. How we rise out of the ashes will depend on what our foundation is built on. Jesus said in Matt. 7: 24 “Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against the house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock”. If our HOPE is founded in Jesus we can grow through the fires of tribulation and rebuild stronger and better than before. Where is your foundation, your hope, when life becomes tenuous? As I cried for those in California God gave me this verse; Is. 61:3 “ He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair”. My continued prayers go out to all those suffering the losses of their dreams and pray you will rise up out of the ashes with a new hope for tomorrow. In Jesus. Amen