Beauty in the Dying II

 

Where to start...even though this is a repeat of a blog I wrote back on October 23, 2019 (funny, exactly 3 years ago). Since then, when I am surrounded by all the gorgeous autumn color, I always think about that "beauty in the dying" concept....but especially this fall, this year....my colorful, bright, beautiful Aunt Linda's life was coming to an end. 

How perfectly appropriate she die in October when the foliage all around was so absolutely stunning and filled with the vibrant orange she loved so much!

Though she knew her time here was quickly fading, she lived, loved and laughed to the fullest. 

She made sure each one around her felt loved, just as she had always done. She proclaimed her assurance in her God and her faith....Beauty in the dying as she was living....a Hallelujah!

The following is the 2019 blog, unedited, just as I posted it:

Working on last week's blog...getting the song Better Than A Hallelujah video correct...I wondered if the pictures were the right ones for the song?...appropriate to convey what I was feeling when I listened?

And then it struck me....the absolutely gorgeous fall colors that we have been experiencing, the beautiful scenery....is actually the result of the foliage on the trees dying!  And then I thought ...those pictures are perfect for that song!
"Beautiful the mess were are..."
Because in our brokenness and mess...God can be and is glorified!
We are all dying....we were not meant to live on this earth forever.
📖  As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; Romans 3:10
📖 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

He brings life even in the dying....because the life He brings isn't a life lived in our earthly bodies forever, it is an eternal life for our souls in His presence.
So no matter what physical age we are or what circumstances we find ourselves ...we are all dying....but in that...shouldn't we live it out beautifully!?

📖But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.  It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  2 Corinthians 4:7-15

"Even in our misery....God just hears a melody"

📖 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Shouldn't our lives be a "hallelujah" to our Creator?!
📖 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

We need to let "the honest cries of our broken hearts" become Hallelujahs in our Lord's ears....and let our limitless and boundless God give us joy in our limitations!
God gave us today!  For His purpose!  I pray you find that purpose today!  Even if it is just to lift a thank you; for the scenery around you, for the day before you, for the people around you, for the breath you are taking....
come on!  You have MORE Hallelujahs, I am sure of it!

Better Than a Hallelujah Amy Grant