Beauty for Ashes

Frans Schwartz's "Agony in the Garden

The other day I visited the "Sacred Gifts" exhibit at BYU's Museum of Art, and I was particularly moved by the history of the paintings. A majority of the paintings were commissioned after original religious pieces of art were destroyed by fire.

As I looked at the pictures of Christ, I was touched by the beauty that could be created after destruction. A promise given in Isaiah 61 came to my mind. The Lord gives a promise to those that mourn that He would give them "beauty for ashes." The paintings truly are sacred gifts—beauty born of ashes.

As I walked through the exhibit and pondered Christ, His life, and His invitation to come to Him, I found a personal connection with the history of the paintings. There have been times in my life when I have figuratively been burned down. I am left ashamed of my pile of ashes. I feel like the ashes would never blow away but would remain to blacken my future.

Carl Bloch's "The Burial"

But I was wrong. My piles of ashes aren't permanent. As I've turned to the Lord for healing, I have been given beauty for ashes. Every time I've been burned down, I have been taught a beautiful lesson. I've been given a greater appreciation for the gift of living and for the goodness in people. Sister Linda S. Reeves said it really well in last year's Relief Society General Broadcast:

"My dear sisters, the Lord allows us to be tried and tested, sometimes to our maximum capacity. We have seen the lives of loved ones—and maybe our own—figuratively burned to the ground and have wondered why a loving and caring Heavenly Father would allow such things to happen. But He does not leave us in the ashes; He stands with open arms, eagerly inviting us to come to Him. He is building our lives into magnificent temples where His Spirit can dwell eternally." 

Heinrich Hoffman's "Portrait of Christ"

Like the paintings which bless all who visit the exhibit, the beauty that has come into my life after destruction is a blessing from the Lord. And like the paintings, the beauty and perspective I've been given has become my sacred gift from the Lord to bless the lives of others. ADSENSE HERE