Befores turning to Afters…
Old being made New…
Broken becoming Whole…
Death giving birth to Life…
This single yet multifaceted idea energizes me every single
multifaceted day.
It obviously applies to my jewelry design – taking old
things with outdated purpose and inspiring them to become current creations
with new and beautiful identity! (Around here, we call this transforMAEtion).
It applies to my curb appeal projects – taking old,
disintegrated and dying landscapes and creating new living spaces that beckon
living beings to come and sit, play or breathe in the scented Designer flowers!
It applies to a dark and dusty 1970’s kitchen transforming
on a dime into a modern, light-filled space filled with symbolic art and
not-quite gourmet cuisine! (Maybe food will be my next frontier for
transformation!)
But as I’ve experienced it, the most beautiful
transformations in the above applications coincide with the most profound
transformations occurring in my soul. I
create the most new and beautiful things on the outside when God is creating
something new in my deepest parts.
What’s truly visionary is first truly personal.
I believe we love befores and afters so much because they
are knitted into the fabric of our innermost beings. Our hearts cry out for the after even before we are willing to let go of the before. We long for healing
even before we’re willing to admit that we’re broken. We can envision Life long
before we have decided to embrace the death that must precede it.
Caterpillars, please don’t try to become better, more
beautiful caterpillars. Climb into the dark cocoon and die to all of your old-ness.
Emerge into new life as entirely new and beautiful creations! And let all of
that newness inspire you to spread and multiply that new Life and healing into
the world around you through whatever creative means you’ve been given by our
Creator.
May Dora Mae Jewelry, or any of my creative endeavors,
continue to reflect the re-creation within my soul. And may it inspire you to
press into the excruciatingly beautiful process of transformation…not just so
that your life looks new and beautiful…but so that every expression of your
life reflects Life Himself.
Amen sister! An encounter with beauty awakens us from selfishness to otherness…which then creates more beauty in return! Every day, I walk outside on the same ground that I have walked at 10 years old, 20, 30…and now in my 40's. The same ground, but with a new life and a transformation that reflects my heart and soul on the other side of many transformations! I love when I "lose myself" in something. In those moments, I am freed from the weight of self awareness and connect to the truth of who I am in Christ. New. Thank you Ansley for your inspired design that I lose myself in daily…that brings us smiles and delight with every new blossom and every falling leaf.
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