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Mourning to
Morning
By
Dorothy Ralph Gager |
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I was serving in an elected, but
volunteer position at my church. I still do not know what happened
to cause the tides of favor, to turn into negatives. But somehow, my
offering was not meeting their expectations. Slowly I withdrew,
tiptoed to a safe place, and wrapped myself up in woundedness.
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But I didn't want to stay in that dark
place. After some time of wrestling with the whats,
wheres, and whys, I pushed away the heavy shroud. There were no
answers in that place. There had to be a way out. I WOULD find a way to be whole
again.
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The sick shroud lays powerless around my
feet. I sit. For so long, I had spent energy in the dark familiar
slough. What next? . . . I pray. |
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I get the idea that all things can be
turned into good. This is the first time I get to see the back of
the chair. I think it needs a little decor, so I poke in a little
design. And I put myself on my knees to pull at the heavy shroud.
What will become of it? |
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Momentum gains. Now I know what's to be
done with the woundedness. Psalms 30:11 says, "Thou hast turned my
mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me
with gladness . . ." I am full of power and determination. |
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The woundedness becomes my dancing skirt.
Verse 12 says: "(gladness) to the end that my glory may sing praise
to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto
thee forever." |
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To view larger images of
Mourning to Morning, please click
here.
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An interesting thing happened in the
firing of these pieces that gave me insight into what the Holy Spirit
was teaching me.
The first five pieces went through the molding, the drying, the greenware, the firing and came out unmarred
–
perfect. When the kiln lid for the last piece was opened, I found the
figure had come through perfectly, but the chair had burst into
shards--except for the back with the little design on the back.
That's when Truth spoke. I had been sitting on a chair from my
developmental years that was inadequate to hold the person God
had designed at the day of my birth. Those elementary tenants of faith needed to be
examined, broken, and sorted.
And the design on the back of the chair? I hadn't consciously made a
cross design, but there it was
. . . a whole piece.
The events described above occurred at a very different time and place
in my past.
My conclusion is that no matter what the struggle, no matter how hot the
firing, the meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ is unchanged. And the
power of the cross, Jesus' sacrifice, and resurrection would be my
strength and my joy. And so it has! |
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Dorothy Gager has made Mourning to
Morning available as a 3" x 4" handmade foldout book with Psalms
30:11-12 printed on the back.
Dorothy Ralph Gager
Email:
dorothy@dgagerart.com |
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