The Statue in the Garden
by Tanya Person
The statue of a girl stands in the garden through all the seasons, through sunshine and rain and snow, holding her basket of flowers. As the years have gone by, she has lost some of her smoothness and her stone has become pitted. She has turned green from algae and moss.
I felt it was time to clean her, so, with soapy water and a sponge, I approached her and attempted to wash away the effects of time, but with no results. Adding a bit of bleach to the water and armed with a brush, I began to brush away the grime.
First the soap turned green as I scrubbed, then it turned yellow, then brown, and finally white, as the layers came off. Some areas were easier to clean than others. I had to get a smaller brush to reach some areas. I poured water over her to rinse off the soap and see which area to clean next. Layer after layer, she gradually got cleaner and cleaner. As I cleaned, I saw more details that her creator had put into her, details that were not visible previously. I appreciated the beauty of the design.
“What are you saying to me through this, Lord?” I ask. “Is it even worth spending this time cleaning her when the algae and moss are going to come back?”
I understood He was showing me an analogy of the healing ministry. We come alongside people where they are and, with the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, we help wash away the things that are covering them. We begin to see them as the Creator made them.
We’ve all gone through the process, and we will need to go through the process again, as we are still living in a world that affects us. But, as our scripture for today says, when the veil is removed, we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord, and we can be transformed day by day into His image.
I believe our encouragement from this analogy is threefold. Firstly, we are to allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us so that we can see and reflect His glory. Secondly, we are to see others through His eyes and let Him use us to help bring cleansing to others. Thirdly, we must not give up. Our labors are not in vain.
Tanya Person Tanya and her husband, Jim, were missionaries to Hungary for over 18 years. They have worked with Ellel since 2005. After serving in various positions with Ellel in Central and Eastern Europe, God led them back to the United States, where they are now serving with the Ellel USA team. They have a passion to see leaders restored, the church discipled and walking in God’s fullness of life and freedom, and for mentoring the existing and developing team. Tanya also enjoys crocheting and knitting in her free time and has written some children’s picture books.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
