Some of the most beautiful flowers grow in unexpected places. Some plants push through cracks in concrete, and wildflowers grow beside highways. Cacti flourish in the desert, and trees survive storms and produce new branches. Nature reminds us that life has a way of finding its way through broken places.

I remember a particularly hot August when I went out of town and came back to find my tomato bush dying, with a single red tomato left on the end. I couldn’t understand how there was still a tomato on the bush. When I see flowers and nature thriving in harsh places, I think how similar it is to us as people.

Isaiah speaks of God giving His people beauty instead of ashes. Ashes represent what remains after something has been destroyed. It’s the ugly remnants of what was after a fire. They're evidence that something once existed but is no longer there. Maybe you've experienced your own version of ashes --a dream that burned down, or a relationship that ended. It’s a season that left you wounded. You might even feel like a version of yourself that you no longer recognize.

But God doesn't waste ashes. He can take the remnants of what was broken and create something beautiful. It pains Him to see us hanging to a dead branch, like my tomato. He desires to pluck us off and give us new life. He is the vine, and we are His branches. He can redeem and bring purpose from pain and compassion from suffering. He brings wisdom from mistakes and strength from weakness. Your brokenness doesn't scare God.

He isn't standing at a distance, waiting for you to become whole before He can use you. He meets you in the ashes. And sometimes the very places where you were wounded become the places where you eventually help someone else heal. Your story can become someone else's reminder that God is faithful. So don't be ashamed of the places where you've been broken. Give them to God.

He is an expert at making things beautiful again.