“You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us.” – Gungor, Beautiful Things
I wrote this post yesterday, but the day got crazy and I never ended up posting it! So here it is:
Today is Ash Wednesday. I started the day off at an early morning service at Bel Air Church. I remember the morning Ash Wednesday service I attended last year… just about one year ago today. I think back on that day, and I remember that Clay was assisting with that service. He walked up the aisle right past me holding up a photo of a broken cup being poured out.
I remember resonating so much with that photo. I truly felt I had been poured out. I was at a place of wanting a new beginning in my life. I had waited so long, been through so very much, and just wanted a companion to walk through life with. But more than that I wanted God to show up in my life in big ways to encourage me along in this journey.
Last year I gave up all social media and blogging for Lent, and let me tell you – God did show up in some pretty amazing ways through that “fast.” And by His grace and through His generosity and great love, He also showed up in bringing me and Clay together during that time. One year later, and we are now engaged. Wow.
It’s funny when I look back on my life with more of a big picture reflection, I see God in such tangible ways. Yet, somehow when I’m “in the thick” of whatever trail or struggle I am facing, I tend to not see God as evidently. How quickly we forget as we move forward just how faithful He has been in the past.
You see, that day just one year ago I had no idea if Clay liked me. All I knew was I was so drawn to him, thought he was such an amazing man of God, and I was just craving any second I got to talk to him, learn about him… and I just hoped so much that he felt the same way.
Turns out he did. Just yesterday Clay was asked to play worship music in the service this morning. As we made plans to meet at the church this morning for the service, he told me, “It’s been exactly one year since that service when I was totally trying to flirt with you.”
Little did I know, God was working. Little did I know the blessings He had in store. As I move forward into this Lenten season truly focusing on giving up my anxiety – in placing it at the foot of the cross daily, in surrendering all my stress to Him, in placing it in His loving and grace-filled hands, trusting that He will take care of me, that He will meet all my needs, even more so than I could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20) – I reflect back on His goodness.
And I truly feel the tangible evidence in not only my own life, but also in the world all around, that He truly does make beautiful things out of the dust and out of us.
When you feel poured out, that you have come to the end of yourself, when you feel like a pile of dust yourself, when the world all around feels gloomy and dark and grey… look around, for He will reveal to you His beauty in the driest of places, in the most desolate of land underneath your weary feet.
He makes beautiful things out of dust.
As I scanned back through my photos to find this one that is so applicable – such beautiful and tangible evidence of God’s amazing capabilities in our lives and on this earth – I saw the time and date when I first took this photo: October 23, 2015. 8:30am. That was the morning of the day that Clay proposed. Coincidence? Or God showing up in some crazy, divine, and wonderous ways? I’ll leave that up to you to decide…
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:19
“Out of chaos life is being found.” – Gungor, Beautiful Things
