There is Beauty in These Ashes

There is beauty in these ashes:

right here in this middle place,

not beauty from full healing

and all my tears erased.

There is beauty in these ashes:

a heart that's learned to grieve,

that holds on loosely to this life

and with new vision sees.

There is beauty in these ashes:

the appreciation of little things,

deep breaths, legs that run

green leaves and flowering trees.

There is beauty in these ashes:

from seeing death firsthand,

there are mysteries of living

I more fully understand.

There is beauty in these ashes:

because I look for beauty today,

tomorrow is not guaranteed

Heaven is not far away.

There is beauty in these ashes:

God's work has just begun,

I'm not waiting for a cure

grief's work is never done.

There is beauty in these ashes:

hands that hold both joy and tears,

learning to move forward

while facing all my fears.

There is beauty in these ashes:

because God sits in them with me,

I don't have to escape my ashes

to experience His beauty.