Grief shatters us. It breaks us into a million pieces…shards of mirrors on the ground reflecting our once beautiful lives as fragments of memories and pain. A mirror can never be made completely whole again without evidence of fractures. We’ll always have evidence of our loss. Maybe not visible on the outside, maybe not evident to others, but WE know. We feel every crack, every missing piece of our heart and soul no matter how well put together we become.

In Isaiah 7:4, the Lord instructs Isaiah to go comfort Ahaz in the face of his enemies and assure him He is with him. Ahaz has been shaken with the news of two factions bound to rise up against him. Further on, in Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah is there telling Ahaz to remain strong because God has his back. He likens Ahaz to a mighty oak that might be shaken by the fiercest of winds, but he won’t be broken or uprooted.

When we feel shaken to the core, it is so, so easy to let our minds carry us to the darkest of places. I find reminding myself “God’s got this.” is comforting to me. It gives me power. I am not just a survivor. I am a conqueror! And, right here in the Bible, it tells us that God wants to bestow on those who grieve a crown of beauty instead of ashes. He wants us to live and find joy and beauty in life again. It takes work. It takes determination. It takes giving in and handing over. It takes courage. It takes strength. It takes a conscious choice. It takes time.

You are a conqueror. You are a mighty oak. You may bend…but you will not break.

❤️

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted……to comfort all who mourn, 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.”

Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV