Beautiful Skeletons

Visiting a student art exhibit, I was completely struck by this beautiful display. A ceramic skeleton, hand-painted and adorned with gold leaf. The artist was intending to impress the viewer about imperialism, but I thought of something different completely.

There have been plenty of things that have died in my life. Friends. My father. Several attempts at small businesses. Then there are the things I choose to let die. Relationships. Partnerships. Ideals. Even dreams.

There are heartbreaks that followed a lot of those. Tears. And yet as time marched on I resigned to myself that although those people or those things in my life may have moved on into eternity or oblivion, my hope never will.

And hope, even as it rises from the ground of death and heartbreak is often the most pure and beautiful part of the experience. The hope and expectant belief that God can and will use the death of a loved one or the death of a dream to bring about something beautiful and unexpected out of it.

There sat this beautifully handcrafted skeleton by some genius of an art student and it spoke to me. Shiny and delicate, ecru and pink, embossed in gold, under an acrylic cover protecting it from curious hands. If only we can keep our hope protected so diligently until we can shape that hope into work.

Hope and work can come together to cement purpose and make something even more miraculous than what had died previously.

So here’s to the beautiful skeleton of hope that I pray you find when things don’t exactly turn out the way you planned in your life. May God use those dry bones to erect something glorious!