“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 console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes . . .” (Isaiah 61:1, 3, NKJV). I don’t know about you, but in the time and place where I live, I don’t encounter ashes very often. Not only do HVAC systems make wood-burning fireplaces irrelevant, but in the Valley of the Sun, we don’t depend on our heaters as much as people in other parts of the world. However, I have sat around my fair share of campfires, and I have seen the powdery gray residue left over after the fire dies out. The ash is all that remains of what has been burned. It was once wood, but now it’s dust. Ashes are a symbol of grief. They are a tangible sign of loss. After a campfire, you can’t scoop up the ashes and reform them into wood. When a building burns down, it’s impossible to gather the ashes and turn them back into the structure th...