Respite by Susan L.

  I have no words to describe my appreciation for those who offer words of encouragement and understanding. It means a lot to know I am not alone in my struggles. I am thankful, too, for healing opportunities like last night's art therapy session.
  On the drive there, I always take the time to surrender each session to His tender care. Sometimes the oddest things come to mind. In the eighties there was an animated short about a bird of paradise trapped in a shimmering cage. There were no lines, it was done to the music of Zamphir's pan flute. This little film was something I never tired of watching because the whole thing was indescribably beautiful. The image of a bird in a gilded cage inspired me.
  As we were settling in, one of the others in the group mentioned a love of the pan flute. This is not an instrument you hear about every day. That's when I knew the bird cage was crucial to the evening's art no matter what else should evolve.
  I began to paint the images of my nightmares, my fears, the ravening black dogs of depression. All the things that have me feeling trapped and betrayed by my own mind. (Thank You, Lord for the ability to do this.) It was terribly dark and disturbing: black and red swirls of colour, muddy greens and grays. Monsters and evil shadows filled the page edge to edge. 
  As I had gathered up supplies to begin this process, I took a small piece of gold paper for the bird cage and a black, flocked scrap to use for the bird. I hadn't wanted to paint them instead opting to cut the shapes out. As I glued the bird into the cage and the cage onto the background, sadness overwhelmed me. They were so tiny compared to the overpowering darkness of the background.
  In sharing about my piece, one of the others in the group mentioned that the cage, while not letting the bird fly away, it also protected it. God's hand touched my soul. A giant weight lifted as He reminded me that He is my Cage, my Protector, my Provider and Strength.
  When the group was over, I had one last task to complete. I carefully cut the bird cage out of the darkness. I couldn't leave it there. The moment I did, the dark, swirling, terrifying reds of the background became, within the cage, the beautiful colours of a summer sunset: God's redemption.
  "He shall cover you with His feathers, and under his wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday." Ps 91:4-6