Beauty from Ashes

by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan

As this week has come to an end, I painted flowers growing from a bandage. At first, I simply liked the image because it felt cheerful and hopeful. The rose was soft, the daisy was bright, and the greenery stretched upward against a wash of blue watercolor. Yet the longer I looked at the finished piece, the more I realized it was telling a story I had not consciously intended to paint.

The flowers were not growing from a vase or a garden bed; they were emerging from a bandage, and at the center of that bandage sat a small cross. Suddenly, the symbolism became impossible to ignore. The flowers represented beauty, the bandage represented healing, and the cross represented the One who made both possible.

My thoughts immediately drifted to Isaiah 61:3, where God promises to give His people beauty for ashes. Over the years, I have watched Him fulfill that promise in my own life more times than I can count. He has restored relationships that seemed beyond repair, carried my family through seasons that felt impossible to survive, and remained faithful when I could not see what He was doing. Looking back now, I can see His fingerprints all over the places where I once saw only pain.

When I consider the last several years alone, I see evidence of His goodness everywhere. I see children who are growing in their faith and learning to recognize the voice of God for themselves. I see books that began as ideas scribbled in notebooks and now sit in the hands of readers. I see ministry opportunities, answered prayers, and unexpected blessings that arrived in seasons when I thought God had forgotten me. Even the watercolor paints scattered across my desk remind me that He still delights in creating new things within us.

Yet the longer I follow Christ, the more I realize that healing does not produce independence. The world tells us that maturity means becoming self-sufficient and needing less help from others, yet the gospel teaches something entirely different. Every season of growth has only deepened my awareness of how desperately I need Jesus.

I needed Him when life was falling apart, and I need Him now that life looks more stable. I needed Him in the ashes, and I need Him in the beauty. I needed Him when I could not see a way forward, and I need Him now as He opens new doors and new opportunities. The circumstances have changed, but my dependence upon Him has not.

Perhaps that is why I sense such urgency in my spirit lately. It is not an urgency to accomplish more, write more books, paint more pictures, or prove myself to anyone. Instead, it is an urgency for relationship. I find myself longing for His presence more than His answers and desiring communion with Him more than a carefully mapped-out plan for the future.

The older I become, the more convinced I am that Christianity was never intended to be a weekly appointment with God. It was always meant to be a daily walk, a continual dependence, and an ongoing relationship. Jesus did not save us merely so we could avoid judgment one day. He saved us so we could know Him, walk with Him, and abide in Him every single day of our lives.

When I look at the painting now, I no longer see flowers growing from a bandage, but I see a testimony of God’s faithfulness. I see places where He has healed wounds I thought would always remain open, and I see evidence of His grace blooming where ashes once covered the ground. Most importantly, I see the cross standing at the center of the composition, reminding me that every good thing in my life flows from Him.

The flowers may be beautiful, but they are not the source of life. They are simply evidence that the Master Gardener has been at work. The same is true in my own story. Any beauty that has emerged from the ashes points back to Jesus, and every evidence of healing reminds me that I still need Him as much today as I ever have.

Scripture

“To grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit…” — Isaiah 61:3 (ESV)

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” — John 15:5 (ESV)

God delights in bringing beauty from ashes, but His ultimate goal is not simply our healing. He desires relationship with us. The same Savior who restores what has been broken also invites us to remain connected to Him daily, drawing our life, strength, wisdom, and purpose from His presence.

Reflection

As I studied my painting, I realized the flowers were not the focus. The cross was. The beauty was not the source of life; it was the evidence of life. In the same way, every blessing, every healing, and every evidence of growth in my life points back to Jesus, the One who made it possible.

Challenge

Take a few moments this week to identify three places where God has brought beauty from ashes in your life. Write them down and thank Him specifically for His faithfulness in those situations. Then ask yourself an honest question: Has God’s goodness made you more dependent upon Him or more independent from Him?Spend time with the Lord this week not asking Him for anything. Simply sit with Him, worship Him, and enjoy His presence. Let your relationship with Jesus become the goal rather than the means to another goal.

Prayer

Father,

Thank You for every place where You have brought beauty from ashes in my life. Thank You for the wounds You have healed, the relationships You have restored, and the ways You have remained faithful even when I could not see Your hand at work. Forgive me for the times I have celebrated the flowers while forgetting the Gardener. Forgive me for the moments when I have mistaken Your blessings for self-sufficiency. Remind me that every good thing in my life flows from You and that apart from You I can do nothing.

Create in me a deeper hunger for Your presence. Help me desire relationship with You more than success, answers, accomplishments, or recognition. Teach me to abide in You daily and to walk with You faithfully through every season, whether I find myself standing among ashes or surrounded by beauty. Thank You for being the source of life, healing, hope, and restoration. May my life continually point back to You.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

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