out of dust

Inspired by the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor.

All this pain, I wonder if I'll ever find my way?
 I wonder if my life could really change at all?
All this earth. 
Could all that is lost ever be found? 
Could a garden come up from this ground, at all? 

I feel that everyone has these thoughts at some point. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness--a desire for things to be different, but an uncertainty of whether or not that change could be reality. Such thoughts come frequently for me here in Tucson, where I have thought more deeply about the problems in my city, my state, my country, my world.
Sometimes I wonder not just about my life changing, but about the world really changing. Could a garden really come up from this ground of greed and selfishness, of hatred and violence? Could those who are lost in suffering and oppression or in power and wealth ever truly be found?

These questions cross my mind when I see news headlines and read blog posts of my fellow missionaries in service. Natural disasters destroying homes and ending lives. Families desperate for futures, for freedom. People groups hungry for justice, thirsty for righteousness. Countries plagued by fear, oppression, and violence.

Can a garden come up from this ground?

All around 
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found, in You 

Yet in the midst of pain and despair, in the midst of hardships and grief, I still see hope spring anew. I see it in the refugees that I work with every day. I see it in the brightly colored flowers and plants that thrive in the desert. I see it in my coworkers, who can dance in the rain after a stressful day's work. I see it in my fellow young adult missionaries and volunteers, who continue to seek justice and love mercy, even though it is hard.
I see people who, in the midst of chaos, are choosing life, are choosing hope. And that gives me hope.

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us 

All of us are dust. When I think of dust I think of insignificance, of dirt. Of something useless and troublesome. Yet this repeated chorus reminds me that despite the hopelessness I feel and the doubt that anything good could come from me, God still makes beautiful things. He is still working. The story is not over yet.
God can make anything beautiful. Even dust. Even us.