Beauty for ashes: A love story

Photo courtesy Mike Knapp
Mike Knapp and Julie Rae pose for a photo after getting engaged during a sled dog tour at sunset in Pagosa Springs. Both Mike and Julie lost their spouses to brutal battles with cancer. Now that they’ve found one another, they are embarking on a new journey filled with love, hope and faith in the possibilities of the future.[/caption]

There is a popular Christian song by the artist Gungor that gently serenades, “You make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of dust.”

The melody is reminiscent of a verse in the book of Isaiah, “To give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ...”

As newly engaged Mike Knapp and Julie Rae sit side by side, intertwining their fingers and exchanging knowing glances, this is the phrase that describes the portrait of their love: Beauty for ashes and joy for mourning.

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