Ephesians 4:23 “Be made new in the attitude of your mind.”
I love the majesty of the mountains and the dark blue color of the sky against the mountains. It was my idea of what heaven might look like someday. When we had to relocate to the desert for my husband’s job, I was dreading the move. The desert struck me as hot with lots of sand and no vegetation. It seemed like it was a place devoid of life. It has been fourteen years since we moved to this place I now call home. I have since found a beauty and abundance of life I never dreamed. The color of the ocotillo with their orange arms reaching up to the sharp blue sky, have their own majestic look. The deep colors of the bougainvillea which dots the landscape offer the contrast against the carpet of the brown sand. When the cacti are in bloom, the flowers are brilliant in color. A place I once saw as lifeless, I now see as a place of beauty. It is so different from the mountains, but stunning and picturesque in its own way.
I have learned to appreciate this grief journey just as I now appreciate the beauty of the desert. When my daughter passed away the landscape of my life was desolate and colorless. I was feeling lost in a life I used to know. I felt devoid of life, not wanting to live on, but knowing I had to. How would I find my way through this unbearable pain? As I continued to heal and lean on the Lord, I have found a new life. It is a life different from the one I was living. I have found a gift given to me by my daughter. A life I now value and enjoy. I have learned there is beauty in a life that has experienced a loss so devastating. As a mom who has lost a child, I understand the joy of living in the moment, to love those in my life and to live each day to the fullest.
Lord, thank You for your faithfulness. You have turned ashes into beauty. Beauty of a life here on earth, and a hope for what life will be for all of eternity.
-- Michele
