I saw and angel in the marble...

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Creating the Nautical Installation in our Prayer Loft has been my project this week. 

Psalm 93:3-4

The ocean is roaring, Lord!
    The sea is pounding hard.
⁴ Its mighty waves are majestic,
    but you are more majestic,
    and you rule over all.

John 3:8
Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.

This has been the bulk of what I have worked on this week. I still have a few things left to do but all in all it is good to go for Sunday's service at Spokane First Covenant Church. This all started from a painting idea that I started to work on thinking I would make some small changes to the art in our prayer loft.  During staff meeting on Tuesday my pastor started talking about boat sails coming out of the wall. That launched us in to discussing all the things that could be done with a Nautical theme. I got a working budget and headed to the basement first to see what we already had that I could use. Then I was off to Hobby Lobby and found wonderful things and got most of them at half off.

So you see the lighthouse area that reminds us that the Lord is the light that illuminates our darkness. He guides us on our journey and he warns us of dangers along the way.  In this area there is a treasure chest that has gems with promise verse references and a bible is there so you can look them up to see what God is saying to you through them. 

The next area pictured is the globes where you can pray for the nations of the world that God's love and light would penetrate into the lives of their people. One could also pray for the place in the world where believers are undergoing persecution for their faith in Jesus. 

The scrolls of blessing is my favorite part. I took passages from a book called Daily Spirit Blessings and rolled them into scrolls that people can take with them and read aloud to them selves during the week. There is power in what we speak and we need to speak the truth to our selves. 

Candles can be lit as a reminder of our prayers rising before the Lord.

The Helms Wheel is a place where one can go and pray for God's guidance and direction. 

Not pictured is an area where you can write a prayer or a confession and then toss it into the big boat hull as a act of faith - like casting your nets to the other side of the boat. I you write a confession of sin or are repenting or forgiving someone you might think of the hull as the sea of God's mercy and forgetfulness. He forgets our sins as far as the East is from the West.

I'm excited by how fast this project came together and I am delighted with how it has turned out. When I do these kind of projects they have a frame work of an idea but a lot depends on the things that I find as I gather and shop for supplies.  My pastor asked if I got the idea for how to do the ships from Pinterest and the answer is no - I just set to building it with the things that were available then added to those things.  I am convinced that it is part of my spiritual gifting because I can't tell you how I know what to do. I have a idea in my head and I work to make it visible to others.

“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shape and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”~ Michelangelo   “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” ~ Michelangelo

Tuesday afternoon I had the whole area torn apart and was cutting wood and hammering nails to get the hull shaped. It took 12 yards of muslin, some boards in the basement and other odds and ends that I found on my gathering trip on Tuesday. 

Wednesday I got the sail hung on old banner poles I found in the basement. 

I then painted the hull and headed for home where I worked on rolling 200 little scrolls. 

Thursday I did all the arranging and made signs for each area to help people understand how to experience God in each area. 

Friday - I will be putting the verse above on the walls and I have some pinion flags on ropes that still need to be hung. I suppose I better also get the bulletin and power point slides done for Sunday's service.

Saturday - I hope to be home relaxing or maybe finishing the painting that started this whole Nautical direction. I don't think I will be using them in the prayer loft.  Perhaps the Lord has some other plan for them. I think my vison was just a bit too small and God opened my eyes to his bigger plan for transforming the prayer loft. He does that with our lives as well. We invite him in to work on this one little area that is causing us problems and before you know it he's got a whole spiritual house make over going on. I think that I took the step of faith to move in a direction and to choose the colors and God saw my faith and breathed upon it.

Prayer: 

Dear Lord, 

Yes, The ocean is roaring, and the sea is pounding hard.  

It may appear that you are sleeping in the boat and unaware of the storm that has risen around us.
Ah the waves are mighty, majestic and even terrifying but you are more awesome in your power and in your love and you rule over all. Lord help us to know you in the storm and help us to be quiet to hear your voice as you speak peace over our lives.