10/26/2026
Beauty from ashes.
We say those words, but have you ever stopped to think about what happens after a fire?
Sometimes, a fire clears away the dead grass, the tangled debris, and the overgrowth that keep sunlight and water from reaching the soil.
And underneath all that destruction, something remarkable is happening and we don’t even realize it.
The growth points of grass survives safely at or below the soil’s surface. While the fire burns away what is dead and overgrown above, the roots and protected growing points can remain alive.
Amazing isn’t it?
And when the conditions are right, new green shoots begin to push through the ashes.
The key here is the fire isn’t the end.
God works in our lives that way too doesn’t He?
Sometimes life burns down everything we thought our future would look like.
The plans fall apart.
The doors close.
The prayers go unanswered in the way we hoped.
The things we thought we couldn’t live without are suddenly gone.
And we stand there looking at the ashes, wondering how anything good could possibly come from what just burned.
But what if the ashes aren’t the end of your story?
What if, underneath all the heartbreak, disappointment, and things you don’t understand, God is still protecting something you cannot yet see?
What if the fire has exposed the things that were choking out your growth?
The fear that kept you from trusting Him.
The distractions that kept you from hearing Him.
The relationships that were pulling you away from Him.
The version of your future you were holding so tightly that you couldn’t imagine the beauty of what He might do next.
Not every painful thing that happens is something God sent to destroy or teach us a lesson. We live in a broken world, and some fires leave scars that take a long time to heal.
But even there, God is able to bring life out of places we thought were beyond recovery.
Isaiah 61:3 tells us He gives us “beauty for ashes.”
Not because the ashes never existed.
Not because the fire didn't hurt.
But because our God is a Redeemer.
He can meet you and your broken heart and teach you to recognize His faithfulness in a life you never expected.
After the smoke clears, you begin to see that the things you thought were the end of you did not have the power to end what God was growing in you.
The ashes are real.
The loss is real.
The healing may take time.
But so is the God who brings dead places to life.
So if you're standing in the middle of the ashes, don't assume nothing is growing just because you can't see it yet.
Keep praying.
Keep trusting.
Keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Maybe one day, you'll look back at the ground you thought would never grow again and see green shoots pushing through.
Not because the fire was good.
But because God was still good in the middle of it.
The fire may have changed your landscape, but it does not have to destroy your future.
🐂Chelsey Nelms
0890 Bucking Bulls
