When a poor soul discovers it is beloved by God more than it ever fathomed, beauty is suddenly found in every corner and riches flow in inconceivable torrents. Even in the face of loneliness and times that have deeply crushed, it sees the tortuous image of God hanging high on a cross with the beauty of an unsurpassable love, and this soul starts to be transformed. Milkweed Threads is a testament to this soul – my soul. I have found beauty in the created world, and discovered words with which to praise God.
Thy whole creation speaks Thy praise… so that our soul rises out of its mortal weariness unto Thee, helped upwards by the things Thou hast made and passing beyond them unto Thee Who has wonderfully made them; and there refreshment is and strength unfailing. St Augustine.
Having being fed God’s Truth and abundant grace in my own poustinia (desert) I have made many steady steps out into our wounded world, compelled to sing of my joy in being sanctified and loved with the wonder of words and the form and splendor of color. This work has fortified my soul against sin and doubt. It has multiplied my joy. Beauty now regularly flows, even amidst the tears. Beauty raises me up when fear threatens to tear me down.
These days, beauty can sometimes look like a still gaze before a raggedy wildflower before it passes into the crisp depths of winter. At other times, it is a precious few moments of hand stitching with a pot of tea cradled by the glowing comfort of an embroidered linen cloth. Sometimes it is the wiping away of tears from a beloved child through a restful rock in a tatty recliner by the window that glows with the warm gift of a winter sun.
And so in my work with Milkweed Threads I seek to release to the wind of the Holy Spirit signs of this divine beauty in the hope that they may take root in the minds of those who need to know the transforming love and freedom that God intends for every soul. To multiply the joy in spite of the sorrows, and give solace in the midst of pain. And to show that while beauty can be practical and common, what is essential to see is the way beauty raises us up to God and a life of holiness through His Word.
It is in living and acting that man establishes his relationship with being, with the truth and with the good. St John Paul II
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