Sculpting

We are on vacation in Italy, staying with friends who live just out of Naples. It is an amazing break for our family. We've had such a great time with the girls touring Pompeii and Rome.

While in Rome we saw all the sites that tourists see. St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican has a statue call Pieta. It is a large carving of Mary holding Jesus after he has died. Michelangelo carved this sometime in his spare time between designing St. Peter's, painting the Sistine chapel ceiling and carving the statue of Moses that sits in another church. He was a busy man.

Somehow he chiseled this out of a piece of marble. The detail of the folds of Mary's garments are amazing. The size of this statue is amazing.

I'm not one to normally do such things, but I bought a small, cheap replica of this. I want it as a reminder and a picture of what God is doing in my life, in your life, and in the lives of the workers and residents at the Home of Hope. Especially the residents at the Home of Hope.

Our women come in like that big piece of marble. There is no form, no life to them at all. And then God begins to chip away at the marble of their lives. He doesn't take the chisel and expect the masterpiece to appear with one big "whack". Like Michelangelo and all his masterpieces, it comes with patience, gently chipping away a bit at a time. And then something amazing appears.

This is why our commitment to each woman who comes to us is long-term. They need time for God to do the work in their lives. They need time in the safety of our home to find God's healing for their souls.

They often can't what God is doing, that they are making any progress, that something beautiful is emerging. They can't see what they are becoming. They get discouraged and wonder if they should turn back. But somehow, as Michelangelo had the ability to see what could be in a hunk of rock or in the expanse of the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, God can see that the finished product in the hand of the Master will be beautiful.

On this Easter weekend, please pray for God's continued work in the lives of the women at the Home of Hope in Moldova. We know God is creating masterpieces in each of their lives. Pray that this Easter is amazing for them and that in it, they can see God's hand in their lives.