Something’s Rising from These Ashes

May 10, 2020.

Did you see it? THIS year. 2020. The nightmare year we’re all hoping to awaken from.

There was something incredibly sweet and tender and uplifting about Mother’s Day this year. I scrolled through posts just about midnight after having a deeply fulfilling day with my kids and their kids and their spouses’ staggered visits throughout the day. Each touching “mama” photo was labeled with words that spoke of gratitude for the “best Mother’s Day ever”, with sentiments of love for their moms who were always there for them, and creative ways of gathering during this pandemic pandemonium. I viewed more expressions of raw love than I’ve ever seen before. It seems to me that maybe, just maybe, we’re getting it.

Is good rising up out of “bad”?  Are we finding what’s real and lasting, those things of substance?

Among other things, motherhood represents the nurturing heart of God (stay with me here). The importance of this role cannot be overemphasized. Moms shape little humans’ minds. When all is said and done, our families of origin will dictate our emotional health. Moms, as well as dads, are the key players in our becoming. And yet, there seems to be a societal frown upon the woman who chooses to forfeit a “fulfilling career” in order to pour into her children the stability that is necessary to forge the treacherous journey of adult life. To be “just a mom” is a misnomer. I believe it is an extremely high calling because of the impact we have on our children’s lives. Ask any counselor who has dialoged with the devastating effect upon a life when the concept of “mom” has become synonymous with “evil”.

All this to say that what I experienced yesterday was a shift of sorts. There seemed to be an elevation of the good that God intended us to applaud and somewhat of a suppression of the unnecessary props that have long been lauded by the world. I saw young men pouring out their hearts concerning their beloved moms, husbands giving praise to their wives, and mothers overwhelmed with a plethora of loving expressions from their offspring. It felt to me like there was some sort of stripping away of the dross so that the beauty of what is eternal could be on display. And it was. Finally.

This world is going through a massive reconstruction. Everything we thought was settled seems to be unearthed. All that we took for granted seems to be slipping away and what remains are the things that “cannot be shaken” (see Hebrews 12:26-28). And those are the things of God’s kingdom…gratitude, reverence, worship, and awe. It feels frightening at times, but it can be the best thing that has ever happened to this earth, aside from the arrival of Messiah. This “shaking” is fodder for revival, for prodigals to return, and for believers to come to grips with the substance of our faith. We are coming to the reality that the triune God is not a mere concept, but a reality more tangible than our very breath. And what rises from that new trajectory is an awareness of the many ways we have embraced the cultural norms that stood in opposition to what our God calls “good”.

Maybe we’ve been asleep. Maybe we just got lazy. Or maybe we just weren’t taught well. But now is the time to rise up and embrace the painful reality we are living in and let the chaff blow in the wind. I believe it’s time to release the pretentious lives we are living, to grasp on to substantial truths, and get on with living in the light of God’s love and power.

He is calling us. Like David facing Goliath, God is stripping off the burdensome armor in order to clothe us in His righteousness. He is inviting us into a life of effectiveness in this world. But we can’t do it when we’re loaded down with extraneous baggage from living inwardly. And I believe many during this time are hearing His voice and responding. There seems to be a momentum building for beauty and revival and restoration that is currently below the surface, yet, will soon be visible.

Maybe this sounds like a stretch, but Mother’s Day this year represented a kind of getting back to what is paramount…a healthy, God-intended return to His heart as seen in the many expressions of gratitude, so much more than I’ve noticed in previous years.

I pray that this is just the beginning of good that we’ll continue to see rising up from the ashes of adversity.