free to be

Beauty from the Ashes


Imagine Tamar: grief-stricken, sobbing, ashes on her head. Her body in a heap on the cold floor. Soot covers her beautiful face and smears the rich colors of her torn robe. Her outward appearance echoes the cavernous darkness in her soul. Hopelessness and death well up in her. She is nothing but a tomb.

The door of her room slowly creaks open. A stream of cloudy sunlight pours through the door. A figure of a man takes form within it. Not Absalom. No, she would recognize Absalom anywhere.

She glances down at the hands that seem paralyzed on her lap, her palms covered with ash. She suddenly becomes shamefully aware of her appearance. Wretchedness sears her heart. She is certain her violated estate is obvious. She despises herself...

...He approaches and takes her face in his hands. No one has ever done that before. The overwhelming intimacy turns her face crimson, not with shame but with vulnerability. His thumbs sweep over her cheeks and wipe the tears from her face. As He takes His hands from her face and places them on her head, her throat aches with fresh cries as she sees the filth on His hands. Her filth. He draws back His hands and she senses something on her head. Perhaps in His mercy He has hooded her disgrace.

The man offers her His hands, still covered with soot, and she takes them. Suddenly she is standing. Trembling. He leads her to the brass mirror hung on the wall. She turns her face away. He lifts her chin. She gives the mirror only a glance. Her heart is startled. She begins to stare. Her face is no longer streaked with dirt. Her cheeks are blushed with beauty; her eyes are clear and bright. A crown sits on her head, and a veil flows from its jewels to her shoulders. Her torn coat is gone. A garment of fine white linen graces her neck and adorns her frame. The Kings daughter, pure and undefiled. Beauty from the Ashes. --Beth Moore

The fragmented story above is taken from a Bible study I am currently doing, entitled Breaking Free. It's in reference to 2 Samuel 13:1-22 where Tamar is betrayed/violated by her brother. I take the time to write it out because it speaks to my heart...and maybe it does to your's as well. Life is a gift-to be cherished and enjoyed but life is also hard. Our stories may or may not be like Tamar's but if we're honest, I think we've all felt a portion of that shame, defeat, and brokeness.

But the beauty of Good Friday and of Easter/Resurrection Sunday is that it's personal. He loves us that much. He restores beauty and life to our souls. He did not come and die on our behalf so that we would continue to live lives of defeat. He wants us to be free. May we have hearts that are receptive to His unfailing love. May it be personal this Easter weekend for you and for yours.
Beauty from the ashes. Daughter of the King.