Beauty from Ashes

I may plan my day, but I find He directs my path, instructing my heart even in the everyday tasks of life. The Lord loves personally and I hear Him every day as He speaks to my heart.

What seems like just reading an email directs us to a step that takes us to the next step and the next, and as we look back, we can see the hand of a personal God. An email is just part of my story. It actually started five years prior, almost to the day of the email that would direct me.

Five years ago, I heard about a woman's house that burned down in Bellbrook, a town nearby to where I live. The woman was in women’s ministry, and some ladies in my circles knew her, but I had never met her. I drove by her home as I had heard it had horses and was a beautiful property. The house was gone, and over the next year they would rebuild. I had seen the new house as we drove that way often for our boys to play with some friends.  The sign on their gate read “Beauty from Ashes--Glory to God” based on that scripture from Isaiah 61:3 

“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.” 

I had thought five years ago, I would love to meet her some day and see her new home. Her life just seemed to depict a strength I wanted during the time I faced my mother’s death in 2006 and then my dad’s in Oct 2008. In the past year along my own journey, God has shown me this verse in Isaiah, reminding me that my life is for His glory and He redeems lost years, lost hopes, lost dreams….He is the Redeemer!! I was intrigued by her story.

Fast forward to the end of May 2013; I read an email from Donna Partow, author and motivational speaker on a mission to empower women to live out their God given call and take their message to the world. It was about a class she was offering, so I took the intro tele-seminar and decided to sign up. Nothing profound, just simply I liked the title and thought it would be interesting. 

Little did I know that that decision would be confirmed in the first class. The verse on day one was Genesis 50:20, the same verse I had just studied in the last week of my Bible study in Genesis. Yep, the same one!! God winks: I am in the right place at the right time. 

I also realized that Deborah Lovett, the co-teacher with Donna, was the same person whose house burned down five years ago. The same person I nonchalantly thought, I would love to meet her some day and see her new home. WOW!!   

I am excited that through “random” events, God would “wink” in my direction the realization of a thought five years prior. It blows my mind that the God of the universe would touch ME in such a specific and loving way. But HE does care about the small details and often works in the everyday tasks of life - so glad!! I can’t help wondering what more He will do through all the “random” intersections of lives through an email!! All for His glory! Watch for Him!    

by Joni Ormsbee