Lent Week 1, The Labor of the Cross

The Labor of the Cross

Taking the Cross
It is the start of Lent, the season that leads to our commemoration of the passion and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus said, "Take up your cross" (Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23). It is not something you go looking for in faraway places. Sooner or later the Lord hands us a cross, and our job is to recognize it. For each of us, there are events that make a difference. The sorrowful mysteries are different for each of us. Maybe it is a meeting with a friend, a lover, or an enemy. Maybe it is a sickness or a triumph. We try to see our lives through the eyes of faith, with a confidence that God in his Providence can draw goo out of the awful and unwelcoming happenings.

Freedom
Lord, grant me the grace to be free from the excesses of this life. Let me not get caught up with the desire of wealth. Keep my heart and mind free to love and serve you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, World without end. Amen.

Words from Sacred Space for Lent 2013

Jacob's Well Week 1 Reading Mark 6:1-13

For more process images visit Lent Installation for Jacob's Well Church

 I am still trying hard to figure out in words what should be said about this piece. 

Right now I am exhausted......frustrated.....anxious....and excited. Like last year during the season of Lent, I was inspired to make a piece that to my surprise, brought much pain, suffering and healing not only emotionally but physically. It became the most powerful piece I have made so far. During the whole process I strangely felt like an outsider. And I was thankful for the privilege that I not only was able to make it but participate with it. 

Here I am again, my body still aches from the many hours of labor of winding and dyeing and rinsing the yarn a few weeks ago. And now I find myself with this huge task ahead of me, anticipating the pain and aches. I am going to weave twelve scarves in six weeks. But it is so much more than simply weaving these scarves. It is what they represent along the way. Our suffering that became Christ's suffering. The journey and the labor of the Cross. Each week, a new scarf, a new weight to be added  But this journey has hope.....because of His Great Love.