9-29-2026
When You Wish You Had a Different Story
“Mommy, tell me a story.”
When my son, Steven, was little, that was one of his favorite requests. Whether we were riding in the car, waiting for a haircut, or settling down for bedtime, he wanted a story. But there was one requirement: Steven had to give me the first line.
“Okay, buddy,” I’d say. “What’s the first sentence?”
“Once upon a time there was a leaf…”
“Once upon a time there was a snail…”
“Once upon a time there was a dragon…”
And so the story would begin.
Everybody loves a good story, but not everybody loves their own story. Some pages are painful to remember. Some chapters make us wonder, Why did this have to happen? Others leave us wishing we could tear them out altogether.
A husband left.
A friend betrayed you.
A parent wounded you.
A diagnosis changed everything.
A dream died.
A child walked away.
A mistake left a scar.
Maybe you’ve looked at your life and thought, I’d like a different story, please. I understand. My early years were a cauldron of alcohol, violence, rejection, and regret. If I could have written my own story, I certainly would have changed those chapters.
But here’s what I’ve discovered: the parts of my story I wish had been edited out have become the ones that stand out as His most amazing work in my life.
That’s redemption.
Isaiah 61:3 tells us that God gives us “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
I love the words instead of.
Beauty instead of ashes.
Joy instead of mourning.
Praise instead of despair.
Notice that God doesn’t say there will never be ashes. He doesn’t say there will never be mourning. He doesn’t say there will never be despair.
He says He can take what is broken and transform it into something beautiful.
That doesn’t mean we call the painful parts good. Abuse isn’t good. Betrayal isn’t good. Disease isn’t good. Loss isn’t good. But God is good, and He can take what has happened to us and work through it in ways we never imagined.
Think about the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Broken pieces of pottery are repaired with precious metals such as gold. Rather than hiding the cracks, the artist highlights them. Shimmering golden veins trace the places where the pottery was once broken.
The cracks become part of the beauty.
What a picture of redemption.
God doesn’t always erase the scars from our stories. Sometimes He allows them to remain as evidence of His grace.
Perhaps there is a chapter in your story you wish you could rewrite. Maybe you’re living in one right now. You look at the ashes around you and can’t imagine how anything beautiful could ever come from them.
Don’t stop in the middle of the story. God is still writing.
Your disappointment is not the end of your story. Your failure is not the end of your story. Your loss is not the end of your story. Your broken heart is not the end of your story. There are still pages to be written.
We cannot go back and change what happened, but we can place what happened into the hands of the Redeemer. We can trust Him to take the ashes of yesterday and create something beautiful from them today.
And sometimes, the very pages we most wanted to tear out become the pages God uses to help someone else.
Your pain can become compassion.
Your wounds can become wisdom.
Your brokenness can become a bridge that helps another hurting person find her way to hope.
So if you’re looking at your life today and thinking, God, I would have written this differently, remember: you are looking at a chapter. God is looking at the whole story.
And He isn’t finished yet.
You may not be able to change the chapters already written, but you can trust God to bring beauty from the ashes.
Heavenly Father, there are parts of my story I would never have chosen and chapters I wish I could rewrite. But today I place them in Your hands. Take the ashes of my disappointments, losses, mistakes, and hurts and create something beautiful from them. Help me trust You when I cannot see what You are doing. Give me joy instead of mourning and praise instead of despair. Most of all, remind me that my story isn’t over. You are still writing, still redeeming, and still bringing beauty from the ashes. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let’s practice looking for the beauty in the ashes. Fill in the blanks and share them in the comments. God took the ashes of my _______________ and turned them into beauty by __________________________.
Digging Deeper
Have you been eyeing this book, but not read it yet? Friend, now’s the time. This is one of the most important impactful books I have ever written. I wish every one of you had a copy!
Don’t get stuck in a bad chapter. Learn how to move past the difficult parts and allow God to use them for good. Maybe your story of how God got you over the mountain, through the valley, or out of the fire is the very thing someone needs to hear to give her hope that life can be different.
I’m cheering for you!
Comments 11
I learned long ago going through my dad dying when I was 6, being abuse from 7 -16, losing my mom at 16 and losing my oldest son( who was a Marine).just 3 years ago, that all the these parts make up me. I would not change anything. God is good, He knows what He is doing. I grieve sometimes for my son and my past but I wouldn’t change them Bless You.
I adore you Sharon and I love your devotionals. I read and at times reread each one of them. God is using you in a big way and I am truly thankful and blessed. Keep it going!
We love you and we praise Jesus for Sharon Jaynes.
Hugs,
Shari
God took the ashes of my cancer and turned them into beauty by healing me and showing me that He is always with me. 💕🙏🏻.
. God took the ashes of my daughter becoming a prodigal and turned them into beauty by bringer her home alive and has grown her into His glory!
Thank you for sharing! I believe receiving this email was providential for me this morning. I grew up as a missionary pastor’s kid in the jungle of Peru, South America, during the terrorism, so I experienced a lot of trauma and abuse. My parents and I also experienced a lot of spiritual abuse by some of our mission board and churches.
I have struggled with anxiety and depression ever since I was little. I failed in becoming a Doctor and ended up being a high school Biology teacher for one year and then married an officer in the Army. My husband served for 22 years and he retired during Covid. I didn’t realize that I had CPTSD til I could no longer ignore my chronic illnesses 7 ago while my husband was in Afghanistan and my father was in hospice. Praise God, I found a good Christian Psychologist and encouraging resources like Lysa Terkeust’s, Dr. Henry Cloud’s, Chip Dodds, yours, and others. But recently after suddenly losing our 5 1/2 year old dog to cancer, one of my sister’s good friends being murdered, me trying to heal and lose weight from the chronic illnesses that I battle, finally facing some of the many griefs that I have experienced, and currently having a difficult time finding friends, and my oldest daughter moving to College, I became very discouraged and depressed and began hating that God has allowed so much trauma, betrayal, abuse, pain, and difficulty in finding friends, etc in my life, and still having to heal from so much. I know because of the trauma, etc-I’m learning to heal and become a healthier person and that will attract healthier friendships but I get impatient and lonely when I need to be thankful that I am healing and it takes time to form and get those friendships. Thank you for your reminders that this is only a chapter or chapters in my life and that God won’t waste my pain and will redeem it and will continue to use it to bring hope and healing to others. I hope to write a book, too, one day to share my story so I can be used to bring hope, encouragement, and help in healing for others like He is doing in your life. God bless you for sharing your story and God’s truths and encouragements to me and others! Ephesians 3:14-21
God took the ashes of my past and recent hurts, traumas, disappointments, mistakes, poor choices, destructive behavior, failures, guilt, shame, insecurities, and disobedience, and turned them into beauty by allowing me to place them all in His hands because the weight, memory, guilt, shame, pain, and toll it was taking on me was just to great and destroying me. I will trust Him with it all and my life and future and to do just what He said, give me “Beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of despair”.
I read your book during one of those chapters of my life that I wanted to rewrite. I read the book while sitting in the hospital with by husband before he was called Home. I am still dealing with the pain of that loss and the difficulty of raising my grandchildren without him. But I can say God has been good. He has brought wonderful people around me to encourage me and help me and He has opened my eyes and my heart to those around me that need my encouragement. God has given me a peace that surpasses all understanding and leads me to share that with others that are hurting.
Sue ,
Thank you for sharing your story . I lost my husband as well . I’m still recovering from this overwhelming loss. Grief can be a thief if we let it . But God our redeemer lives . He will make all things new in his timing . Ecclesiastic’s 3:11
God bless you and keep you may his face shine upon you .
This book was part of my recovery journey through a horrific time of divorce. I knew that God was with me but I could not understand “why” this was happening. The words that I still cherish from your book is that He would make beauty out of the ashes. I also knew that I am not the only woman that has traveled this road. I’m so thankful that God has rewritten my story.
Your encouragement has allowed me to weather the storm of a 40 year sex addiction of my husband’s. It’s been 12 years since discovering and I still can’t get back to the feeling of love I had before. You are still helping me try.
God took the ashes of my financial burdens and turned them into beauty by protecting me and providing for my every need, and I’m forever grateful. I know God will use my struggles & pain to always remind me of his powerful hand & unconditional love & for me to encourage others. I’m forever grateful to Almighty God. Amen!!!