CRAFTS

Lisa Bertini

“CRAFTS”? What does that have to do with God?

Befuddled with the word written on my Epiphany Star, I took the cutout home and placed it

in a prominent spot, hoping for inspiration to come from its shiny promise. How would crafting bring me closer to God? Was I supposed to join the prayer shawl knitting group? Start my own decoupage ministry? (I surely hoped not—I’m not the artistic sort.) It was January, and the year to come seemed draped not in promise, but in the worry I’d fail to fruit the epiphany word that was prayerfully given to me. 

In July we made the decision and commitment to join the church—just before I departed for the mission trip to Guatemala. I was so pleased and excited to serve in this meaningful way, but half the year was over and I still hadn’t made any CRAFTS. Did helping to build a house count? I did fleetingly think about my Epiphany Star word as we sat as a group in the mission house around the dining table and made beaded bracelets for the teachers working at the mission school. It’s an image that still remains with me: honoring the educators that are in the trenches every day, lifting the minds and spirits of these deeply underprivileged children and teenagers. 

October brought us to the ‘Whole’ Retreat at Trinity Center in Pine Knoll Shores. I was surprised to discover that part of the curriculum would involve an afternoon of kintsugi: the Japanese art of mending broken pottery by using gold-dust glue to repair it—thus not only fortifying the piece, but making it more beautiful in the process. Was this practice what my Epiphany Star had been leading me to? The realization that, like the bowl that had been broken and wonderfully put back together, so had God held the broken pieces of hurts in my life, strengthening me in the process of healing them by making me more beautiful and resilient, more whole? Through that weekend of reflection, I felt deeply that in life we can embrace our imperfections, working through our difficulties by learning ways to reframe them: by finding beauty in the broken, and finding rest and comfort in our God, who is always holding us and holding all the pieces of our messy, exquisite lives.  

This. This is what my Ephipany Star was meant to bring to my life and faith journey: CRAFTing a personal relationship with God, trusting and delighting in Him, and embracing opportunities to add strength, beauty and character to our lives. 

I joined in with the Advent Wreath-making class, though, just for good measure. 😉 

Blessings in the new year! -Lisa Bertini