Hope for the Barren

Vail, Colorado

Many of the mountain communities of Colorado display amazing sculptures. Vail is one of those communities.  It is possible to spend a day traveling though the city viewing these sculptures.

This sculpture of a mother and child caught my attention. As with all good pieces of art, there is a story in this sculpted bronze. What you see in this mother and child, what I see and even what the artist depicted might be different from each other, yet there is a story told for all of us.

A story I see in this mother and child is reflected in Psalm 113, "The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens... He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.  Praise the Lord!" Psalm 113:4,9 English Standard Version

The Bible tells many stories of barren women who are graced with children. Sarah, Rachel and Hannah come to my mind. Through this picture of barrenness God gives us hope when there seems to be no hope.

God's story for sinful human creatures is ultimately a story of hope. God used barren women to advance his plan of salvation for all humanity showing us that hope is not something we create, but a gift from God.

Our hope is rooted in Jesus. I'm not promising God is going to make everything turn out wonderful for you this side of eternity, but the end of the story is guaranteed. The gift of heaven is a present day reality that we will one day fully experience.

We many not shake the dust of barrenness from our lives here, but the day is coming when God's salvation will make us joyous.

I pray that you taste this joy today!

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(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2014 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.