Burgeoning.

Daybreak Pilgrim Exodus - 36"x36", Mixed Media, ©2024, Elise Ehrenholz.

This painting was a process for sure. This is actually its second incarnation. Underneath this current work there lies another piece I did. You can kind of see it at the edges and the sides. It definitely had an urban feel as well, but despite that, out of all of the previous work I did, these were the only parts I chose to keep. Why? Probably just because for the feel of it. Those moments captured in paint spoke something to me that was worth keeping. The rest of the piece became less structured as I painted over it, sometimes with trepidation. Was this actually what I should be doing? I had already put a lot of time and effort into the last rendition. The answer of course was yes, because I felt there was more to explore with this canvas, this theme of exodus en masse into freedom. Yes, there are still buildings and people and windows, but all of those things are less in their expected place now and more spontaneous, and fresher in this new interpretation. Now there are three people in an elevator going up and a bus driving along a street and a Dutch door in the top left-hand corner adjacent to a rural landscape. There are windows up high and down low, and doors that if in reality were in those actual places they would open up out of the 32nd floor into nowhere. Although it is less literal, it is more cohesive than ever and much more a metaphor. I feel much more satisfied with it, it is more as it should be, more as it needed to be. It speaks of refreshment, confinement ending and opportunity opening up. It portrays fresh air pouring into dusty old apartment buildings, and new perspectives never seen before. There is more depth and dimension to it. There is a street view and an aerial view, and a fourth dimension that represents the potential of God coming into the mix by the heavy presence of yellow sunshine at the top. Heaven coming down. There is a lot of green and a lot of blue which is just so life giving. It's circles and flowers and connecting lines that are like streams that turn into rivers. It's light and brightness and it's layers. There is more movement, more forward motion, and it's the better for it. There is a sense of immediacy to it. It is hope arriving. 

While I was painting this a particular word came to mind. Burgeoning. Not a word I usually use. Not a word anyone I know usually uses. Was God trying to tell me something? Possibly. I looked it up to get the fuller picture. That felt like due diligence if indeed God was trying to clue me into something greater. So what does burgeoning mean anyways? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as, "beginning to grow or increase rapidly; flourishing." Flourishing. Sounds like something we could all enjoy some more of. And even though flourishing would be a welcome addition to any of our lives I feel like God is saying the most important part of that definition is the first part. "Beginning to grow or increase rapidly". Well that sounds like it will be soon doesn't it? If you've ever had to wait a long time for anything you will understand just a welcome sight that finish line really is. Almost there. Feels like just a little longer. While we wait though for this flourishing to come to pass there is this thing called the passage of time that we have to walk through. In this we really have to hold onto that which we know that God has said to us or has shown us. That often can be the only thing that feels real for us to hang onto during that long dry season. It's the moment when we felt God speak to us through His still small voice, a picture, or an impression that we just knew was Him. It can be so long since that initial word though we can start to doubt or get discouraged by the enemy of our souls. Did God even say that? Sound familiar? (Check out Genesis 3:1 for more on that.) This is where I'm sitting too. I'm in the almost not quite yet part of God's promises to me and this is my answer to that conundrum. Go back to moment of your remembrance of God leaning in so that you heard Him. Ask Him to revive and refresh that which He really intends for you. Ask for clarification. Ask for a scripture to back that promise up. Ask for it to be confirmed again, even if it's been the millionth time. Ask. Ask. Ask. Talk to God about it. Wait. Listen. He answers. He answers. God is about relationships. He wants to communicate with us, show us things that we need, give us wisdom for this our very present life and give us hope. This is part of our relationship with God as His beloved children through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. I feel led to share a recent personal encouragement from God here. Just this Saturday afternoon at a loss for what to do with myself I drove with one of my favourite people out to a little cafe in the country that we know. Why that place? Because it came to mind and I felt like God had put that thought there. Go for a drive. Go to this place. With nothing else pressing we took the opportunity to drive that extra mile or however many it took and got there. We had our lunch which was enjoyable. There was nothing special that felt like it was a God moment until we got up to leave. I never noticed it on the way in, when I chose that random table, but in this cafe where there were tons of those signs that say things like, "Life is better at the lake", there was a scripture sign just behind the back of my chair in black and white. It was this, "For we walk by faith, not by sight. - 2 Corinthians 5:7". It was exactly what I needed to hear. Exactly. I had been praying about something quite intensely and I needed to know what to believe when I could see no evidence of anything at all that would line up with what I felt God had expressly showed me. It was and is confirmation that I heard correctly. I heard correctly. His promises are coming! And who am I? A person saved by grace, not worthy in my own works to be God's own, but I am because of the blood of Jesus. This is an encouragement for us all. If He wants to do this sort of thing for me, I guarantee He wants to do it for you. He is for us more than we know and He's showing me that His promise is on the way. For all of us who have been putting our hope in the Lord I’m here to say, not only is it coming, it is burgeoning, and it's burgeoning at light speed. 

"Let us hold fast to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep His promise." - Hebrews 10:23.

"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, " I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." - John 8:12

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."Romans 10:9-10

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." - John 6:29

Keep stretching your hands out to God dear hearts. Pour your heart out like a waterfall to Him. The road has surely been rough, but we are mighty in Him. Praise you Jesus. You did it all.

©2024. Elise Ehrenholz