Beauty for Ashes

Isaiah 61:3 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.

Last weekend my husband and I went on a hike to an area near our hometown. Sadly, due to the dry climate in our area, we get lots of wildfires in our corner of the world. The trail we went on was no exception. As we hiked through the burned woods, I was mesmerized by the flower shower all around us. The hills were popping with fireweed. As the soft wind blew, I witnessed waves of wildflowers in all their glory.

The bright flowers caught my attention among the backdrop of charred trees all over the hillside. Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) is known to bloom after a fire because it can thrive in the sudden influx of sunlight and nutrients from the burning. The bloom is commonly seen after wildfires and it plays an important role in the forest reclamation process. Fireweed was likely already in the ground, but it can't bloom under the shade of the tree canopy. It is a plant species that needs light and nutrients in order to thrive and therefore it really takes off after disturbances. 

An indigenous tour company run by Brenda Holder offers medicine walks in Banff. Holder enjoys sharing the numerous benefits of fireweed. She stated, "When people hear some of the medicinal uses, and food uses, and some of the stories around them, they're pretty fascinated and usually go away wanting to seek more information on it." 

Holder said that fireweed not only replenishes the land after it burns, but it can also be used for burns on human skin. She added "Fireweed really is what we consider the great healer of all burns." 

As I hiked through the hills among the beauty of fireweed flowing in the wind, my thoughts drifted to Isaiah 61:3. God himself is the great healer of all burns. He takes the charred, scorched, ashes of our lives and brings forth beauty. He exchanges mourning for joy and a spirit of heaviness with a garment of praise. When the wildfires scorch our hearts with wounds so deep we don't believe we will ever recover, God is faithful to bring beauty out of the ashes. Every time. All the time. In His time, not ours. 

And in His faithfulness, God makes you a tree of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, a canopy of shade for fellow sufferers - all for His glory!