The Oil of Joy for Mourning

Today would have been Graeme's 6th birthday. This morning, Chase sang "Happy Birthday" while Ian danced along. I spent some time remembering special moments and fingering small mementos, working to figure out what to share in this post.

My prayer to God a month ago was that He would redeem my grief. Not because it's heavy or burdensome but because that's what He does. He's a life-giver, a redeemer, a maker-of-new-from-the-old. So, here is my old grief, redeemed, renewed and made over into something life-giving:

According to Luke, while my Lord walked this dusty earth, He entered a synogogue and stood to read. He began, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..," and the hearts and minds of the listeners heard their God speaking to them again through the prophet Isaiah:

“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.”

Such sweet words for those who are acquainted with the brokeness and death of this wearisome world (wouldn't that be all of us?). Lord, turn these ashes into beauty. Take this death and swallow it up with life.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.”