I am constantly amazed at stories of how ordinary individuals are able to move past incredible personal loss and sorrow to move on and inspire others through songs, written word, and build powerful ministries, each giving hope to the hopeless. One such story is about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, fondly known as “America’s poet.”
It was Christmas Day in 1863 when Henry Wadsworth Longfellow continued to grieve the death of his beloved second wife, Fannie, after her house dress caught fire. Longfellow tried to extinguish the flames with his own body, but Fannie succumbed to the accident. On December 1 of the same year, Henry received a telegram that his son had been shot during a battle of the Civil War. The wound put his son at risk of being paralyzed.
During his bereavement, worrying about all of his six children, Longfellow sat down to capture his feelings as he heard the bells ring that Christmas day, resulting in his poem titled, “Christmas Bells.” Many of us sing this popular hymn to this day.
Longfellow is certainly not the only example of one who has suffered greatly and went on to inspire. There are thousands of examples, many of which I have shared with you previously. These examples are what I call “beauty for ashes.”
It is said in Isaiah 61:3 (“and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy 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.”) is a beautiful picture of what Christ can do for the mourning people of Israel and all those hurting today. When we study this verse, we soon realize that Christ is the joy-giver. He gives a joy that extends beyond the surface. Christ releases us from the bondage that sorrow tries to bring.
Our despair can hold us in bondage that can lead to defeat. Yet when we fully give ourselves over to God, our view of the trouble and sorrow of life changes. The circumstances may remain the same, but we change the glass we look through from a glass darkly, to a glass that is sheer and bright. Yes, we can live while the storm around us rages, but God remains the calm in the storm and gives us the peace to survive the storms. Everything we go through in our life contributes to our story to share with others.
Are we going to experience suffering and mourning in our lives? Most certainly! When we lose loved ones, or our jobs, or if our faith falters, we can rest assured that God will come alongside us with his love and comfort.
I believe Isaiah 61:3 gives us certain hope. It is a beautiful reminder that God can take what we believe to be the worst of circumstances and turn it into something great. We have hope for coming out on the other side of sorrow with shouts of praise for our Lord. For many, the trauma of our past acts as a prison that holds us bound, and the truth is that many of us walk around hiding deep emotional wounds that fester behind the veil of our smiles. These wounds result from broken relationships, devastating past events, forms of abuse, rape, assault, rejection, abandonment, just to name a few. But Christ sees us differently; He sees what we hide inside; He sees the wet pillowcases that bear the evidence where we cry in our sleep. He sees the pang of rejection we feel when our mind drifts to bitter memories, and He’s aware of the barriers we erect to protect us from ever being hurt again.
Today is different … God is calling to get our attention, so don’t hide from Him. Today, allow Him to reach deep inside us and make all things new. He promises to and will give us deep emotional healing for our deep emotional pain. He will give us beauty in place of our ashes.
Debby Efurd is co-founder of Cary John Efurd Ministries of Pittsburg, TX. She has been a contributor to Bound for Life and written numerous articles published in LifeNews, Christian Post and the Baptist Standard, and is the author of Go Tell It! Debby can be contacted at caryjohnefurdministries@gmail.com.
Tagged: Christmas, grief and loss, hope, scripture, Texas weather
