“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.

Isaiah 61:1-4 NKJV

I know how painful Mother’s Day can be. For many years, I avoided church, but I couldn’t avoid the commercials or the Mother’s Day wishes from people in public. I wanted to hide my head in the sand like an ostrich.

Most of you know my story. A wayward child and years of depression, but many of you ache today for other reasons. Some have a child gone astray. Some never had children. Some have buried children. You are estranged from your grandkids. You may grieve the loss of a loved one. Whatever your situation, this passage holds hope for you.

Jesus Christ came to offer hope to the poor. He came to mend the brokenhearted. As we praise Jesus and pray, He molds the crushed parts of our hearts into something stronger than before. He heals our deepest pains.

Jesus will free us from the confines of depression. He will break the chains that hold us hostage to a life void of peace. He will liberate us from relationships that hurt.

Jesus will comfort your grief. He will wipe away the tears, and He will help you move forward, one step at a time. And then one day at a time.

Jesus will take the ash heap of our lives and create a new thing. A beautiful thing. He is the only hope our children have to be freed from the effects of drugs, porn, homosexuality, and immorality. He can take a life ravished with disappointment and make it into a new creation.

The Lord will anoint our heads with the oil of joy, knowing your Savior walks through each pain-filled valley with you. Jesus will remove our heavy spirits weighing us down. He will clothe us in the garment of praise. When we refuse to dwell on negative thoughts, our load will be lighter. The garment of praise is gentle and flowing. As each breath of praise leaves our lips, we will heal little by little.

The lord will make us strong like tall oaks nourished by the river of life, trusting in Him and never moved by the wind. He will rebuild our lives like a desolate city builds up from its ruins.

And the Lord will give you a double portion of honor. You have survived. I have survived. We have survived. And there’s honor in surviving.

I would be honored to pray for you, if you leave your requests in the comments. Be blessed.

–Carolyn

Originally posted on May 8, 2020 @ 3:00 am