Transitions
Moving Through Seasons of Life
Transitions illustrates our movement through life’s twists and turns and the growth that can result when we keep our gaze upward, towards God.
In the first phase, the symbolic figure’s body, all the way to the left, is like a teenage body and represents our potential for spiritual and mental maturation.
The darkness that surrounds her also includes the circles of God’s Eternal Word hovering, breathing, correcting and directing her during this difficult phase.
In phase one, we can feel disjointed, shuffled and confused. Circumstances, relationships and emotions dominate and cause a lack of perspective. Our identity and purpose or calling can be a bit unclear. Even so, we can keep an attitude or a position in the Spirit, that is open, vulnerable and fixed toward our Heavenly Father as depicted by the yellow light in the upper right corner of the canvas.
In the second phase, depicted by the figure in the middle, we become aware that we are transitioning and ascending above the circumstances. Unclear relationships and new relationships begin to bring clarity. As we stay fixed on God and open to His Spirit, new aspects of our identity begin to emerge.
Priscilla notes, “As I was painting, I discovered in the shape of the paper background, a dove’s head right at the middle figure’s left arm and face.” The leading edge of the dove’s right wing is outlined by her breast and chest. Empowered by Holy Spirit, she leaps joyfully into a deeper relationship with our Triune God.
In phase three, we are still open to God’s leading, teaching and discipline. But there’s a new-found joy,awareness, and freedom because we’ve risen above circumstances, relational struggles and identity issues. The figure’s face is more defined as she becomes more authentic, and her physique is stronger and clothed in multi-colored arrays.
In the upper left we see the Breath of God like wind under eagle’s wings, coming to boost us to the transcendent phase three. The continual refreshment of the Holy Spirit, symbolized by the waters in the upper right, encourages us to embrace this process in all areas
of our lives.
The raw canvas and unpainted parts suggest the unfinished characteristic of transitions. This side of Heaven, we will always be transitioning in Christ from glory to glory or strength to strength.
Can we stay in phase three? Transitions are happening in our lives on many levels, in different seasons and often in conjunction with other transitions. We can sustain phase three in that particular transitional victory while we go to phase one in another area of our lives. It is important to identify where we are in transitions so we can partner with God to move more quickly through phases one and two – to phase three.