Beauty through Story, Song, Poetry and Art
~~~
Whether or not you would categorize yourself as a person who has been abused, no one gets by in this life without being wounded or broken in some way. Damage can come from experiences that range from rejection and neglect, to abuse or abandonment. Whether the pain inflicted was subtle or severe, we wind up with lies that take root in our souls and rob us of joy, peace, destiny, purpose, and a sense that each of us is truly a treasure designed by a Creator who loves us passionately with an everlasting, unconditional love―One who, despite our flaws, considers us not “a piece of work,” but a “work of art”―of inestimable, priceless, worth.
What if you could exchange that which has died within you; that which has grieved and crushed your spirit; and the shame, humiliation and self-rejection which has weighed you down; for beauty, joy, and a victorious garment of celebratory praise? What if there was a “champion” who would go before you and level “mountains” which block your path, and break in pieces “doors of bronze” and cut through “bars of iron” which have held you prisoner? Would you go on that journey?
Sadly, gone is the rich appreciation of poetry, art, music, and dance that defined the Renaissance and Middle Eastern culture that birthed the scriptures. Why should that matter to us? Memory is recorded in our minds in pictures, music is literally woven into the very fabric of our DNA, and we are told to “speak to one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs”―because that’s how we heal.
The tapestry of writings woven together in The Voice of Rachel Weeping paints a portrait of God with the compassionate heart of a Holy Healer, who counts and collects our tears in a bottle (treating it as costly perfume); and as a passionate Poet, who seeks to woo and win us into healing and wholeness through artistic and creative expression of “the Word of Life.” It is an invitation to experience God in ways which, no doubt, may challenge the paradigm of who you perceive that One to be. By use of metaphor, rhyme, story, and song, the Creator is viewed through the lenses of Mother, Shepherdess, even llama, seahorse, whale, and more.
Reflection and application of creative entries alternate with short teaching passages of healing principles important for cognitive understanding. Along with imagery and symbolism, testimony of personal transparency in pain captures the hurting heart and takes the reader by the hand to the beauty of healing truth that can set her free. Curiosity hopefully piqued, the reader is invited on a creative journey, based on scripture itself, designed to close old wounds and heal the heart.
Artist of artists
Poet of souls
sculpt me my destiny
richly compose
the song I am to sing in life
the dream I am to paint
the dance that best will honor You
the music I’m to make.
The Voice of Rachel Weeping is an invitation to transform the bass notes of your life to beauty and be restored to a “Designer’s original.” Samples of creative pieces from the book may be viewed on The Denim Rose blog.
Denise Rowe is a retired clinical social worker with a Masters in Social Work from Michigan State University. She has worked in the area of inner healing for over twenty years, and her book is available for purchase through Xulon Press.