Rainbow of Hope
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12 ESV
Last year when we were cleaning up trees that had been knocked down during Hurricane Sally, we noticed that the limbs of the chinaberry tree looked like a rainbow when they were cut in half. I immediately knew that I would do a rainbow block, andI knew exactly how it should be done. As soon as we were back in the barn, I made this block, but it’s been sitting on a shelf for a year. To tell you the truth, I don’t know why we didn’t just get them made and up on the website. It just wasn’t God’s timing, I guess. That’s the only explanation that I have.
Every couple of months I would tell Brad that I needed to start working on the rainbow blocks. And still the logs sat there. Finally, a couple of weeks ago Brad sliced them for me and I sanded them. And they sat. Until yesterday.
Before I tell you about yesterday and show you the photos, I want to share a few things with you. The rainbow is a symbol of hope for many things. And that is wonderful. I don’t take that away from anyone. However, for me, the rainbow will always be a symbol of hope after a family has experienced a miscarriage or infant loss.
Did you know that 10-15 known pregnancies out of a 100 end in miscarriage? You may not have because we, as a society, tend not to talk about it. This is not a new phenomenon. We have been experiencing miscarriages, infertility, and infant and child loss from the beginning. For thousands of years….and we still have a hard time talking about it. And it is still as devastating. Every. Single. Time.
I want to talk about it.
I just finished working my three shifts at the hospital and I usually have a hard time the next day recovering. I’m really tired and my legs just don’t want to carry me anymore. I didn’t really look at Facebook, just got up and ate breakfast and slowly made my way to the barn. I finished the last Song of Solomon cross that was on my list, and I looked at the stack of rainbow blocks. I’ve had them prepped and ready for at least a week. I had no more excuses.
When I got started, I knew exactly why I had put off making this block. I started thinking about all of my friends that have experienced a loss. And Mother’s Day is coming up. I felt such sorrow for them. Not pity, but sadness. Broken heartedness. Heaviness. Then I had to burn in the word HOPE. How do you keep hope alive when you are so sad? There’s only one way, FAITH.
I have been so priveledged to have people in my life that have so much faith and so much hope. They have taught me so much about perseverance and the love they have for our Lord. It is truly amazing.
I finished the first block yesterday evening. While I was standing in the finish room, I told Brad that I think there is going to be a rainbow outside. We rushed to the window but didn’t see anything. But the sky was perfect for one. Still nothing. About 15 minutes later, we were heading to my parent’s house for dinner and the sun popped out from behind the clouds. So bright. We looked to the dark sky and waited, patiently. God did not disappoint. There it was, a rainbow. And with a sun dog! We tried to get a photo for ya’ll, hope you can see it.
Last evening, I realized (after finally looking at Facebook) that yesterday was Bereaved Mother’s Day. I know it sounds strange to say Happy Bereaved Mother’s Day, but this day allows those mama’s to share that they are Mamas and they get to say their children’s name out loud. We want to hear your child’s name. Say it loud!!!
I don’t believe in coincidences. I worked on this block when I was supposed to, and here, in our neck of the woods, there was a rainbow. A Rainbow of Hope, for all the Mamas.
The first rainbow block made 1 year ago.
The sun shining from behind.
First sight of the rainbow.
Trying to get both rainbows. You can see our shadows trying to work together to get the photo. Click here to see the scripture block on our website.
The final block.
Song of Solomon Cross inspiratiOn
Where does Brandi get the inspiration for painting her Song of Solomon Crosses?
Right here where God grows them.
We took a moment together this morning to enjoy being among all these Lance leafed coreopsis. 🌼
North Crossmaker meets South cross-maker
What happens when you get two cross making brothers, one from Brooklyn, NY and one from Pensacola, FL in the same barn together?
You guessed it!
We made Crosses. 😊
I met Robert God's Brush Strokes online 5 years ago.
We grew up in two different worlds.
We had two different upbringings.
We are from different churches.
We have different beliefs. We have a whole different language.
But, we have everything in common through Jesus Christ our Savior.
It was a very special day that I cannot put into words getting to meet and work with my cross making brother and his wonderful wife.
God has surely gifted us with a wonderful family we wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for a cross made of wood. 🙏
Working with Robert of God’s Brush Strokes.
We laughed. We worshiped. We made Crosses.
We are Beautiful
I’ve been letting Brad do all the talking about these crosses. Partly because he is eloquent and I’m more straight forward, but also because I’m not sure how to tell you what this verse means to me. And maybe I was just a tiny bit nervous to be so open about my feelings. But something happened yesterday that made me realize that we need this verse more than ever before.
I want to preface this by saying that I am not speaking to women only. I believe that everyone, man or woman, needs to know what this verse is telling us about how God sees us.
I don’t know if you all know this, but I also do a little bit of photography on the side. Not as much now that I am busy with Brad in the Barn, but every once in a while I will take a friend’s family photos. Last week I went to a photoshoot of one of my dearest friends. I sat behind the lens and watched a her family laugh, joke, bicker, and run after the littles. I quietly snapped off 800 photos.
Yesterday, I finally sat down to weed through the photos. There were so many beautiful ones, I can’t wait to edit them all. However, there were a few that I had. to. edit. right. then. They were gorgeous!!! And I was so excited to share them with her.
But she didn’t like one of my favorites of her. What I saw was my beautiful friend, hugging her partner close, with an almost-smile like she was about to tell me a secret (because that’s what we do…share secrets lol). But she didn’t see that. She saw something less than perfect. And I was so sad about that. Why is it so hard for us to see how beautiful we are?
God sees our beauty, every day. It doesn’t matter if we are blooming, resting, or fading. He doesn’t decide we are beautiful because we are perfect, we are perfect because we are His. It doesn’t matter what type of bloom we are, wild or pruned, we are God’s beautiful ones.
Love ya’ll…Brandi
Tap photo to see the website listing for this cross.
It’s just us
It’s just Us.
As we reflect back on this different year the Lord gave us we have so many things to thank Him for.
I’m older looking than I was a year ago and I’m ok with that and thankful for another year. I kinda like that my beard is matching the clouds in this actually too. 😁
Brandi is yet even more beautiful than she was a year ago and I get to see more of her. I’m definitely ok with that! Thanks to y’all she has been in the barn with me even more this past year.
Our boys are growing into wonderful young men who seek to take care of others and put others before themselves.
And my Mom since she started working her job from home has been able to move back to Florida and be only an hour away from us instead of 6-8 hours away.
We have an even bigger family this year through Divine Crosses that look out for us and take care of us.
We Love y’all dearly.
We were on our way back from the Post Office after packing all morning and stopped by this wild turnip field to just take a moment together alone with God to say, Thank you.
The awesome thing is, we aren’t alone. God is right here with us. You are right here with us too and always in our thoughts and prayers.
My goodness, God is so good.
P.s. Yes she was pinched for not wearing green on St. Patrick’s day. Hehe!
Today
Today!
What an awesome day getting to see the beauty of this Chinaberry and River Birch as it comes off of the mill.
This was Brandi’s first time sawing timber after all these years and she loved it!
It is so awesome to share with the love of my life what I’ve loved doing all of my life.
Thank you @peepleslumber for everything you help us with and do for us. We don’t know what we’d do without you guys.
