Day 4: Happy Art-Every-Day-Month! Cross to Glory Beading

Cross to Glory

By: Susan Schiller

Beading helped me get my life back. It's what we did after work, nearly every night. All of us sitting around the dining room table with our rainbow of glass beads, needles, and patterns. Laughing, joking, and sharing ideas for the next regalia, I learned to relax and have fun, after a traumatic time of deep grief and pain. 

The Lakota family adopted me as one of their own, while giving me complete freedom to worship God in my own way. I'm an Aspie Girl (Asperger's) so working with thousands of tiny beads and putting them into a creative order, somehow at the same time helped me to put the shattered pieces of my soul into some kind of order. It felt like I was becoming "me" again, with each stitch.

So I beaded this Spanish-style cross, not really knowing what it would look like until I began beading. The cross is an instrument of torture, but when Christ died and was resurrected, I believe, it became a symbol of "glory". All the pain and grief was turned into something powerful and beautiful.

The cords used to tie Jesus to the cross beam, I made into flowering vines. I put a dove, set against a rainbow, in the top… symbolizing the Holy Spirit and all the promises of God being true. There is gold in the lettering, which symbolizes glory. All of the thorns are the colors of vibrant gems. In the middle sits a 4-layered Rose of Sharon, one of the names of Jesus, from the Old Testament.

The nails form the centerpoint of a Morningstar, another name for Christ from the Old Testament. I put silver mixed with the translucent white into the body of the cross, symbolizing purity, joy, and more glory. Red, for the blood that poured out of his body outlines the cross, highlighted by black on the inside and sparkly beads on the outside.

The "cross to glory" is a way I pictured my own healing. That someone could love me that much that he would be willing to be tortured, just so I could know the full extent of his love… and that the same love is available to the whole world, became my focus. It's true love that overcomes all the evil of this world.

I had never done anything like this before – it was a totally new learning experience. But in two-weeks it was finished!

And my heart hurt so much less. It felt like I could breathe again. For many of us who go through traumatic grief and pain, we often wonder if we'll ever feel normal again. As I look back on the last few years, I am amazed at how much my life has changed. I still have a long way to go, but everything has become new. There is joy and laughter and hope.

Recently, I was asked by Christina Rasmussen to create a video of how I re-entered the world, and I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I talked about the beading, and how much creativity played a part in my becoming whole again. While I wouldn't call myself an artist, I do love to make things with my hands! And really, isn't that what it's all about? Becoming a co-creator with our Great God and seeing beauty come out of the ashes!

From the series "Art Every Day"

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Do you create art? It can be as simple as snapping a photo, twirling a crayon, or baking bread. It's your turn now! Do, please, share!

Click the image above to join dozens and dozens of great artists who are celebrating "Art Every Day Month" – a national event! What better what to celebrate the beauty of creation and to magnify our great Creator than by creating art! Creating something beautiful is one of the best healing therapies in the world!

With all my love,

Susan

Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor –  to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.

Copyright 2013, Susan Schiller, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline and bio, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references.  For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.

Tagged as: Choosing Love Today, Deborah White Dove, Getting Your Life Back