The Beauty in Ashes

I love facial dimples, I so wish my cheeks were decorated with those dainty dents! My friend has these awesome dimples on both cheeks and anytime he smiles, oh my, he always looks super cute. The other day, I was looking at his picture and called him 'dimples' by way of offering a compliment. He smiled and told me something I had never heard, thought, or considered....

He said to me, "Do you know that dimple is a deformity?" I was like, "No way! What??? That's not possible! How could something that attractive be a deformity?" Well, curious me went straight in search of information and indeed, I found out that dimples are actually genetic defects (caused by shortened facial muscles). However, as genetically defective as they are, they are considered a mark of beauty and loveliness. For those who have 'em, dimples are DELIGHTFUL DEFECTS! How awesome is it, that something, which is supposed to be a defect, turns out to be a beauty mark?

There's a saying in my native language, "A white pap comes out of a black pot," and another one, "When a king's palace burns down, it produces a more beautiful palace (by the time it's renovated)." This is to say that glorious things can very well be born out of adversity. A remarkable story in the Bible tells of how God turned the adversity of two women into a timeless beautiful story. Ruth 1:1-5, 8-9, 16-19, 19-21; 4:13-17

1 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there. 3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband. 8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the LORD reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the LORD bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept. 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked. 20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”

13 So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the LORD enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the LORD, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons! 16 Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.

These two women were battered and broken in the face of adversity. They both lost everything but God turned that same ugly situation into a glorious one. In the midst of the ashes, God brought out beauty. There is no way we'd trace the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ that these two names won't be mentioned. What a beautiful story!

Do you know, that there's beauty in those ashes scattered around your life? Do you know that defect or deformity has massive potential of becoming the most beautiful thing that ever happened to you? Do you know there's a blessing in that raging storm? Do you know that:
He gives beauty for ashes
Strength for fear
Gladness for mourning
Peace for despair
If you didn't know, now you know! It don't matter what your situation looks like presently, after you've been tried in fire, you will come out as fine gold. Your situation is but a dimple - a delightful defect. You will find beauty in your ashes. 
-By Ayotunde