Art can be an important expression in a person’s recovery from addiction and homelessness. Recently, one of the women in our recovery program at Shepherd’s Door painted a picture of her broken heart.
She writes about her painting:
HERE I AM
Over the course of my life, I built a wall around my heart that ignored and denied God. Eventually the wall became a towering factory. This factory processed pain. Then boxed it up and shipped it out to others.
The quick fix was always reachable, but only a short while did it last. And the void was still left unfilled.
One day, my heart could take no more–and I chose to come to a place of healing. One by one, the bricks came down–till eventually there was a hole, big enough for Jesus to come through.
The wall fell to ruin and revealed by broken heart to Jesus. And he filled the cracks and crags that I had desperately sought to fill for so long.
I noticed a vine of hope grew along the side of my wall. And then I realized that God was with me all along. Even though I denied Him continually, He had and will always love me.
Isaiah 58:8-9
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, “Here I am.”