Sunday Dinner: Isaiah 61:3--"Something Beautiful"

Sorry this "Sunday Dinner" is a midnight snack. I had to make sure everyone had clean underpants, finished homework, groceries for the week, bedtime stories and prayers, and tooth fairy money before I could post something. I knew you'd understand.

I remember when I was a kid, there was a show that would come on our PBS station. It was a guy teaching viewers how to paint. He started with a blank canvas then start painting a beautiful scene. As I'd watch in amazement, there were times I couldn't see what it was going to be and thought this guy was surely in a pickle painting this mess on national television. Then he'd manage with the last few strokes to pull all the random elements together into a masterpiece. I'd mentally let out a sigh of relief that it turned out so beautifully. I'm sure he would have had a good laugh to find out some 8 year old girl was so worried about his artistic ability.

Oh, how often I do that with God. Sometimes I just don't see how He's going to salvage the situation or turn what looks like a mess into something beautiful, yet . . . He does every time.

This week's verse:

"And provides 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 a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

Isaiah 61:3, NIV

As I watched my family this weekend, I was awed at how beautifully God has woven us together. I was humbled by how far God has brought us over the years--from a place of brokenness to a place of goodness. My life is certainly a testimony of beauty from ashes, joy from mourning, praise from despair.

I guess that's why I love Need to Breathe's song called "Something Beautiful" (today's dessert). It reminds me of all the times I've taken my tangled mess to my Heavenly Father and asked him to turn it into something beautiful. And He always does. And just like the artist on PBS, His masterpiece always turns out so much better than I ever imagined.

More Than Lots,
Kathie