Something immensely important to me right now is the hope that can rise out of ashes and brokenness. There are so many wildfires going on right now, and it is hard to look at the ashes they leave behind and feel that any goodness can come out of it. But amazingly new life finds its way up, and though it may take a long time to overcome the scars of the ruins, something new begins and eventually it will fill up all that was there before, and the old will simply remain to give strength to the new.
ashes -
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
brokenness -
Someone once wrote that God apparently loves - and turns to our benefit - broken things. It takes broken clouds to nourish the earth, it takes broken earth to grow grain, it takes broken grain to make bread, it takes broken bread to nourish us, and so are the cycles of life. This divine sequence is akin to the Savior's parable that no kernel of corn can grow to fruition until it is first thrown away and, in effect, lost in the earth before its bounty can come back to us.
It may be that among all the broken things God loves, He loves a broken heart most of all. So when our day of sacrifice comes - and perhaps sorrow will come with it - be trusting and be believing. Know that God will accept your offering and that, through the great miracle of the Atonement of Jesus Christ , He will give your heart back to you healed and whole. That is the ultimate truth taught by the Resurrection. Christ, the Great Healer, will make recompense for us in time and in eternity. By His grace and the goodness of God, all broken vessels are fully repaired.
(Jeffery R. Holland, For Times of Trouble, pg 70)
