From the Ashes – She Said
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV
It wasn’t something I’d ever dream to have. In fact, we’d given up on ever having grandbabies. Our boys hadn’t chosen to marry or entertain the idea of children. So as we watched other grandparents coo over their grandchildren, we smiled and sighed.
Until this week…when they laid that baby in the bend of my arm, the floodgate opened. I couldn’t stop the tears. The baby stretched and his little hand touched my cheek. You would have never convinced me six years ago, this baby, from this son…would be resting in my arms.
It’s funny how life changes in a heartbeat. From moment to moment we wait and wonder how the path will twist and turn. What does God really have in store?
While Solomon must have experienced a rush of overwhelming realization when God gifted him with wisdom…it must have given him an inkling of understanding about the immenseness of God. We can only guess that, for an instant, Solomon actually “got” eternity and the beauty of things even in the darkest of moments. Beneath the apparent sadness of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was trying to put into words, the vastness of his gift. The amazement in God.
There was a time we wondered if we’d ever see our son again…if we’d ever again experience the joy he’d brought us, and yet when he returned, the moment was beautiful. Precious to us. Nothing could surpass that feeling until this week. In front of us stood our boy, holding his boy, and in the words of Solomon…no one could fathom what God had done from beginning to end.
We still face rough spots with our boys, but we remain faithful in lifting them before a God who has control of eternity and all the pieces that fall into place getting us there. This week was bittersweet as we rejoiced in the turnaround of one and the stumble of another. Yet in the midst of this, God made it beautiful in its own time. For a moment we understood, as Solomon must have, what it meant to see wonderment rise from the ashes.
I can’t change history, make decisions for others, or even begin to bring about world peace, but for now…I can hold in my arms the promise of the beauty God creates.
During your times of uncertainty and hurt, hold tight to the wisdom and truth found in an omniscient God. He will raise good things from the ashes and eternity will reign…all in its own time.
Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries. She has contributed to Novel Journey and Novel Reviews, and Christian Devotions. She has written for PML Programs and contributes to the Times-News.net and CBN.com. Her devotions and articles are published weekly in several newspapers across the country. Cindy is the Executive Editor of ChristianDevotions.us and the Devotional Acquisitions Editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She cowrites the He Said, She Said devotions with Eddie Jones and is the coauthor of He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion and the author of New Sheets: Thirty Days to Refine You Into the Woman You Can Be.
She is a speaker who teaches and speaks at ladies’ conferences, special events and writers conferences across the country. Cindy directs Writers ADVANCE! Boot Camp. You can visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.
* Money from New Sheets is donated to Hope House to help young, pregnant moms choose “life.”
Need to change your husband? Change your sheets. Want to change jobs? Change your sheets. Long for a new life? Just change your sheets. God uses our life experiences to shape us. When the friction of frustration chaffs the skin, God offers us respite and rest. For author Cindy Sproles, sleeping on worn-out sheets meant holding on to the past, but new sheets…new sheets marked a fresh start. The slate wiped clean. Crisp. Fresh. New. With each monumental event in her life, she tossed out the old and ushered in the new with a set of fresh new sheets. From the cheapest muslin to the most expensive Egyptian cotton, she saw how God was shaping her into the woman she needed to be. When the road is tough, veer off and step onto a path that is tried and true. One already walked, already blazed, and already prepared just for you. New Sheets – Thirty Days to Refine You into the Woman You Can Be, is a series of thirty transparent devotions and inspirational thoughts that welcome you, wrap you tight, and snuggle you in encouragement. The next time you long for a change…go for new sheets.













