Soon after my son’s high school graduation, our pastor extended invitations to anyone interested in attending his annual, very educational faith-walk through Israel and to my surprise and astonishment, yes, my son wanted to go. Being away for a week at church camp is one thing, but halfway around the world for two weeks was hard to imagine. I wasn’t sure if this would actually come to reality because although I made a decent check, maintaining a home, a child in private school, and those costly emergencies, had consumed most of the sponge account. We put our heads together wondering how we could come up with the funds to pay for 10 days in the Holy Land. After much prayer, I went full speed ahead with the only gift that could possibly fund this once in a lifetime experience. Art. I had self-taught myself mosaic art and with his and his father’s help, he sketched out a 24in X 18 in cross on cardboard. After investigating the different surfaces, we settled on 3/4 inch MDF board to provide a strong and secure background and went shopping for a saw. I acted like I knew what I was doing at Sears; it was quite funny really. I came home with a jig saw; whether right or wrong, that’s what we cut the crosses with. Much to my surprise, he soon had cut out 10 large wooden crosses and several smaller and we went to work gluing tiles. We also studied the different types of grout and before long, we started producing the most beautiful mosaic crosses that still adorn the walls of many of our friend’s homes. We attached 10-pound hangers to the backs due to the weight of the wood and ceramic and/or glass tiles needed to cover one project. The large crosses sold for $100 and the smaller sold for $40 to 60.00. Within a couple of months, we had earned enough to pay his expenses. One sleepless night, I was needing encouragement. We had both grown tired and weary. I opened the Bible and let the pages fall. My eyes settled immediately on a verse I know was provided to inspire and keep us going. After I asked, “God, is this a crazy idea, can it really be used to make this happen?” The verse before me from Corinthians 7:7 read,
“Each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.”
While they may seem quite simple, it was exactly what I needed to pick up the next day and keep pushing forward. Working 12 hour days at the hospital, I fought against fatigue in the evenings but I knew now, this was the only way. It would take approximately one week to make 2-3 crosses due to the time required to cure the grout and dry the sealant. Nothing happened fast but soon, we had met the goal. The mission was accomplished. As a christian mom, the best gift I could possibly give my son was the hours of quality time we spent together, and the opportunity to walk where Jesus walked and to study the land given to God’s people. You will find a few pictures of his experiences. May you be blessed and know that when you seek God’s Will, He will always deliver.
If you would LOVE one of these to grace the wall of your home, message me! I will be adding a link in the near future.
Sand, Salt and Inspiration 