Holding Hope

Within the heart women hold space for both the joys and the sorrows which characterize the richness and complexity of their relationships. We hold the dreams, delights, aspirations, triumphs and the doubts, disappointments, pain of others’ alongside of our own. This is the gift of the grandmother, the mother, the aunt, the sister, the wife, the friend: to experience the treasure, the tensions, and the weight of holding space for both.

This wool painting depicts the holding of space not just for two, but three things: the hard realities, the beautiful experiences, and the hope-filled possibilities. There are splashes of sunlit green along the forest floor - small celebrations of success for those we care about and the cheering on of what is good. The towering trees and shadows of the dense forest represent the painful difficulties of our lives and of those we love. But there is light. The light is not generated within but comes from without. The rays of the sun represent the Light of Christ which shines into our darkness for those who trust Him, and plants hope as an anchor for the soul. It is this hope - represented by the solitary golden flower, that many women and I carry in the midst of the darkness.

This Light, with its capacity to transform - to bring life from death - causes hope to take root.

This hope is held on to and held out.

Women holding hope share stories, bear witness, and link arms. They catch tears, carry laughter, grieve failures and see potential. Many women hold this hope, this assurance, that there is good at work for those they love even in the dimmest of circumstances; that Light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it.