Tattered Gal of Dust and Others

by Deborah Rutherford

TATTERED GAL OF DUST

Sometimes I feel

so tattered.

Frayed and worn,

in need of renovation—

a restoration.

Sitting in my reupholstered

tweed wingback chair

with a cup of turmeric ginger tea,

looking out the window

to winter barren trees.

Still, love is in some of their leaves

that lift to the sun that is out today.

Like these trees sleeping then waking,

God takes my ragged hem,

stitches, and makes me new.

Rebirth and renewing this gal of dust

into a precious, holy creature.

God, who created the world

out of the void

and the word that came forth,

spoke you and me into being.

And a breath that breathes

a soul of light into us,

created in the image of Him.

God turned my tattered heart

into a glorious new creation.

No longer left to dust or recycling bins,

I am on my way to eternal bliss.

STANDING IN THE GLORY OF GOD’S RESTORATION

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:1-3, New King James Version

So many in my circle of friends are in change with new seasons and new beginnings with vast unknowns spreading out before them. For some, it is a season of mourning and loss as a loved one dies, as a career possibly ends, as a heart splits, as a body stops working as it once did. These are the ones at the beginning of the new.

Then, there are those who are in the middle—who have been through the door and are learning to live in the valley, searching, listening, praying, wondering, and maybe cursing.

And then, we have those to see after the storm as the clouds turn to blue skies. We are stunned at their beauty, resilience, and perseverance. How they proclaim their faith in a God who sustains and strengthens them through the darkest valley of despair, suffering, doubt— though so busted with minds almost torn apart. But now they stand strong on the other side in the glory of God’s restoration.

We can be brave, drinking in the encouragement of our courageous ones who stood steadfast in faith, trusting and obeying God even when all hope dies and dreams stop. Because in the quiet of this storm, they found a Savior who sheltered them in love, drenching them in a peace and joy that can only be from God because they had nothing left.

Although we are impoverished here in this world and brokenhearted, we can hold onto hope because Jesus came to preach good tidings to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, to comfort the mourning, to give beauty for ashes, oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for our spirit of heaviness.

Jesus is here this very day to heal His ravaged children. The world’s sorrows are this way because we live in a fallen world, but God has and has always had a rescue plan. We do not have to live as prisoners strapped in and chained to hopelessness. We can live free in Christ. Jesus has come to set us free.

And while here a little longer this side of heaven, God does not leave us on our own to wallow; no, He is walking with us through and lifting us to peace and joys that no one can understand or explain because God can do this. We, too, can live in peace and joy while simultaneously living in brokenness and suffering as Jesus comforts us and turns our ashes of mourning to beauty. How sweet and tender this is!

No, we do not wallow. We praise God because Jesus gives beauty instead of ashes. Oh, we reach for His beauty and restoration becoming anew as God rescues, restores, rewrites, and flourishes.

What God is teaching me through whispered and intimate conversations is that it is okay to change. Now, granted it took me to 64 years of age to understand the gloriousness of change. Because, as a follower of Jesus in a spiritual sense, change is God’s RESTORATION, as He lovingly returns us to our rightful condition as His children before the fall, before sin. As I lay down my control and submit my life to Jesus daily, His change leads me to Him.

God covers me with His love, peace, warmth, shelter. His LOVING - WASHING – FORMING -TRANSFORMING ways heal my deep areas of pain, where I thought healing was impossible.

Sometimes shame from my past tries to cling to my transformed scars that belong only to Jesus. Oh, the minions of the devil are tricky—so easy to slide into an opening, a crevice, a weakness, a doubt, a worry. But our LORD is too powerful and all-knowing, and HIS BLOOD SWIPES AT THE ENEMY, scattering and massacring, leaving me enveloped in GOD’S HOLY LOVE. Romanced beyond my understanding.

That’s what our life with our Lord Jesus is: a process where God restores, shapes, molds, refines, and prepares us for our eternal heavenly home. God's holy love transforms us, moment by moment, and we are God's living love.

Although our bodies age and may crumble under burdens as unknowns dart, we the children of God have a burden-carrier Way Maker. A God who is with us, who strengthens, comforts, and heals, and who always makes a way. What a gift to feel His mercies, miracles, joy, and peace! Oh, there is so much love in the mist of spinning chaos, debris, and the wicked ash. And then there is so much beauty—His Beauty!

Arise, my fellow sojourners, today and every day we rejoice! We clap our hands and shout songs and prayers—our voices hoarse with undulated love expressed, for today is the day that the Lord has made, and He is with us in this perfect moment of bliss! A bliss that calms storms, soothes hearts, carries burdens, wipes tears, and it's 24-7, all the time, 365 days a year! It’s everywhere—so vast, so personal, so one with the One. And we get the lovely opportunity to live in the HOLY with God.

By faith WE walk; we overcome. We see that sowing seeds in our suffering leads to blessings beyond our imagination.

And as I look back on my life, I see God was always my Beauty in my hard edges. In the wilderness where I roamed—apocalyptic, gray, broken—God was for me. He breathed new life into me, transforming me into His glory. It’s nothing short of electric, ecstatic ecstasy.

Oh, it’s a Creator’s LOVE to His creation—for us – yes, US.

by Deborah Rutherford

Ruins

The Most

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