Out Of The Ashes

Out Of The Ashes
by Annie Tornabene

As I watch the burning embers from the pile of burning dead tree limbs that had fallen in my yard from a recent storm that went through here, it brings me to the realization that our lives are like ashes. Ashes are the dead residue of what had been on fire...a flame of passion gone dead...the hurts and pains that is left in our lives from past troubles and storms in the strings of life. Everyone has them. The disappointments...the grief...the sorrow...the pain and agony...the dark cloud of depression are all ashes. The past is nothing more than a bucket of ashes.

Ashes are what keep the fire from burning. . . Ashes slowly kill the flame. They smother the fire. They keep oxygen from breathing new life into the fire. Just like when we hold on to our old hurts or hold a grudge, it keeps us from fully living in our present.

In the movie, Kung Fu Panda, the Grandmaster stated, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why they call it the present." And so it is.

We can't do anything about the past. It is a bucket of ashes. Dump it out! Sweep off the ashes that are holding you back. Let a new fire rise out of the ashes. Out of the ashes of burning rubble comes new hope, a resurrection of life. Just like the donkey did.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the donkey. A donkey fell in a deep hole that the farmer was digging for a well. The farmer said the hole was too deep and the donkey too heavy to try to pull the donkey out of the hole. So he prepared to bury the donkey in the hole. He shovelled dirt into the hole. As the dirt fell, it fell on the donkey's back. The donkey didn't know what was going on so he brushed the dirt off his back and stepped on it. The donkey kept doing this over and over again never giving up. He had hope that his master would get him out. To the farmer's surprise, the donkey was getting closer to the top with each pile of dirt that was going into the hole. The donkey was brushing it off and stepping on it. So he used the ashes of what was to be his burial to be his stepping stones. Soon the donkey was able to walk out of the hole. You will too. Doesn't some of this sound like our lives? Everyone will be amazed at the ease that you walked through the storm in the strings of life.

Out of the ashes will rise your tomorrows. In the present you may not know if you are building a sandcastle or if a dust storm is on the way. Have hope! You are building your dream castle out of the ashes of your life. Love your life. Together we can make a difference.