Transformations of Nature and Spirit
“Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” *
In looking through some of the boxes stored in our basement, I came upon a bin of carefully wrapped gourds, remnants of those we grew in when living in Springville. The gourds evoked memories of a hobby that began with a frame of a “gourd house” made from PVC pipe. After Al had constructed the frame, I planted a variety of gourd seeds in the soil beneath it.
Eventually the seeds sprouted and grew into long leafy vines that crawled along the poles. During the early part of the summer, flowers appeared. Then, after being pollinated by bees and other insects, the flowers died away and the gourd babies began to form. It was fun watching them mature…so many different shapes and sizes.
As soon as the weather turned cool and the vines had dried up, they were picked and stored on shelves in the garage to dry, a process that took a whole year. Then came the hard work of cleaning, sanding and drilling. It was much more fun imagining what they could become and then bringing those ideas to fruition.
Rediscovering the bin of gourds prompted me to ask a sweet friend from church, Chelsea Rose, if she’d like to paint some of them with me. Chelsea Rose and I had previously spent time visiting, drawing, walking T.J. the dog, praying and talking about the Bible. She even came over before Christmas to help set up and decorate the Christmas tree!
Chelsea Rose, a talented artist, was indeed interested in the gourds and took time out of her busy schedule to spend working on them with me. It was interesting to see her creativity and imagination unfold as we examined them the home-grown gourds.
She picked out a medium-sized one with a thick shell that was an unfinished birdhouse. The seeds had already been cleaned out and a round entry hole carved on its smooth surface. Two smaller holes had been drilled on the top for a hanger. Due to our cross-country move, it hadn’t been finished.
She arranged the birdhouse and three smaller gourds on the table, envisioning them suspended from pieces of driftwood to create a mobile. A gourd mobile! I hadn’t thought of that!
We decided on green, brown and yellow acrylic paints for the gourds and blue for the perch on the birdhouse. There was just enough time to put on the first layers of paint and plan the next steps of the mobile before having to clean up.
This reconfiguration from gourd to birdhouse to mobile is in a way similar to the transformation God works in our lives and in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, with our cooperation. Chelsea Rose can attest to this amazing transformation.
There was a long period in her life when she struggled with God, feeling like He didn’t care about her. She felt confused, empty… almost like she had been dropped down into a deep dark well.
Finally, in her early 30s, she tested God, challenging Him to lead her to a small church, similar to the one she had attended as a child. Was there a place where the members would accept her “checkered past” and still love her?
God answered her prayers when she attended another small church about two years ago, one where people were loving and accepting. Now she’s reaching to others to share her story and spread His love.
Chelsea Rose relates to the apostle Peter, who after denying he knew Jesus three times, had a personal encounter with the risen Lord. During that encounter, Jesus affirmed Peter and called him to “feed His sheep.” Peter became a devoted follower of Christ and leader of the church. His life was transformed forever.
Like Peter, Chelsea Rose is pushing on to fulfill the calling God has for her life through the power of the Holy Spirit. He has given her hope and a new life. In Peter’s own words, “Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
*1Peter 1:3-5