“I thought that was you! I’d recognize your face anywhere!”
I turned around and came face-to-face with my ex-boyfriend’s dad. Outwardly, I smiled, but inwardly, I felt a little unsteady.
Now, keep in mind it has been 11 years since we broke up, and it was a messy split. I haven’t seen his parents since before that point. And I’ve moved on. I’m married and have a child.
As we chatted for a few minutes, my heart slowed down a bit. He told me my ex is in another state, that he’s married and has 4 kids. I introduced my son, who was with me. Then it was time to go. As he turned to go, I took a breath and said, “Tell your son I said hello.”
As he walked away, I walked out to my car and sat in the driver’s seat after buckling my son in. Internally, I was freaking out just a little, until suddenly my thoughts reached a new alignment. A piece of Isaiah 61:3 came to mind: “to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes” (NIV).
I have a little card in my Bible that references this scripture and says, “He brings beauty out of ashes.”
We all experience seasons of ashes. That thing that you thought was for sure… that suddenly vanished. That suddenly fell apart. That suddenly burned to the ground, figuratively or even literally. We think we won’t recover from those ashes, ever.
What I discovered when I asked my ex’s dad to pass along my greetings was that I actually meant it. Genuinely. It wasn’t from bitterness; it was from the healing that has happened in my heart over 11 years.
I let him go and forgave him. I let myself heal, let the bitterness fly free from my soul. And in that moment, I was able to genuinely wish him well, even though he had hurt me deeply when he rejected me years before.
I am thankful that our God specializes in healing, in bringing beauty from our ashes, in renewing what was lost and broken. I am thankful that I am able to walk in the freedom found in forgiveness. And most of all, I am thankful for the gift of being on the other side of a situation and seeing the beauty that comes after ashes.
God is good. All the time.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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