One of the most privilege and precious things about this journey of discovery we call Wild Rest, we have been treading these past ten years, is without doubt the people we meet along the way, the treasures we receive when we look and lean into others hearts. I mentioned in our recent podcast that there has been a wealth of people that have impacted our lives, and I am forever humbled that the journey of the heart allows me to receive treasures from others, the unique and very glorious expressions of God himself within another. We are learners, we are students, our lessons come as we give our hearts to connection, to relationships, to sharing the adventure with others. I firmly believe we all carry a uniqueness of God that manifests in our relationship with Him, and comes alive through our daring, our courage to show up, and express our true self. We want to make space to champion and showcase some of the beautiful expressions of life and heart that manifest in those people, in others stories, in the great journey of belonging and discovery we are invited upon.
Hanna Bullock, is one of those treasure chests. We have had the privilege of glimpses of her heart and seen through her incredible gift of creativity a way Father communicates His. She is an artist, she is creative, but I would say more so she is a creator. She takes something and gives life, birth, story, colour and makes new. I recently asked her if she would fashion a creative response to our story, our expression, Wild Rest.
I am reminded of Helen Keller’s words once again.
“the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they must be felt within the heart.”
Though we ‘see’ art and creativity, it is actually far more reaching, it is experienced, we perceive it within our hearts. Art, like beauty, moves us, ministers to us- we react to the ‘experience’ of it, it has the ability to be felt within the heart.
Let me share with you Hanna’s visual processing of, and response to ‘Wild Rest’, and the narrative that she found as she responded. And, also, how we experienced and were moved by her creative expression.
'LET THE WILD IN'
"As I was thinking and reading about Wild Rest what struck me was the idea of it being an invitation. An invitation to re-wild our hearts and minds, to their original design, to be as they were always meant to. The idea of the window came. I wanted to show how it is our choice to open the windows to our hearts and let in the beauty and the wild. The invitation is never forceful, It’s a choice to let in. The beauty starts to come in, re-wild our hearts, as the window is opened."
By opening our hearts, the window, we choose to ‘let the wild in’. Wild Rest is inviting, inviting into wonder, to see, know, heal, restore, to become, it manifests as an invitation and response to let life in, the life we were designed to possess and express. Wild Rest echos the divine ‘welcome’ to a journey. Come taste and see: the wonder, wildness, and beauty, the generosity of Gods heart for you.
'THE COLLECTIVE.'
"After the window I knew there was still more to process, learn, discover and show. I read and reread your blog posts. The words that clearly stem from your heart were full of life, adventure, community and reflection. I started to think about all the expressions of this: the expeditions into the wild, chats around a dinner table, mountains calling, coffees, and all the expressions that come out when we share our hearts with others. One of those being growth. The arrows are there to show that there is fullness when we all come together and share, encourage and root each other on our personal and collective journeys."
Wild Rest at its heart is about those beautiful journeys with God, individually and with each other, as we share, grow, and come together. Coming together is at the core. Wild Rest is nothing more than the invitation to come together, journey, share, belong. It’s so beautifully expressed here in Hanna’s work. She created a visual map of Wild Rest, when I first responded to this piece, I was deeply moved, and ministered to. This piece powerfully expressed something of an extol to and of my own heart ‘You are seen Sarah.’ All the little expressions and invites, some seen, known, some secretly, quietly, many unknown we chose to offer, because we live in a conviction that every expression matters, even if it only touches one. How we live, and show up in our story has the potential to influence others.
Hanna added her courage as I shared this, “you put your heart into the world so bravely and this is what the world needs- hearts living out their deepest desires. It is vulnerable and raw, but to live this way is the only way to really see transformation in ourselves, our lives and communities. This is the invitation you give to others.” This is Wild Rest.
'INVITATION'
"This was the final piece, I picked some elements from the previous pieces, and then started to pair back down. This is often my process with creative projects. I push far and beyond a point so that I know where to come back to. The idea of invitation is still here, standing on top of the world ready to answer yes to the call. Understanding that we are created to share life together with others. There lies the richness of it. The wild is present but so is the stillness with sparse placement of the different elements."
The idea that the two Wild and Rest can occupy the same space.
We stand before the adventure, the call, we heed the invitation. We stand at the frontier of our hearts, wanting to take the new lands of our story, our becoming, our inheritance. How and where we tread our feet, the true journey of discovery, is in the faith to say yes, trust and go, step by step, not needing a map.
We stand humbly before the Almighty who calls to us, ‘come with me’, through this glorious Son Jesus, we get to make our way, in Him who is truth and life, to the Father where we receive our sonship and an inheritance of glorious freedom and abundance of life. We are marked, held, invited by His great love, invited into the wild adventure of Sonship and what it is to belong to this Great Almighty who walks with us, talks with us, abides with us, and calls us His very own. There is no greater adventure, no wilder frontier than this love story. He is all in all, our wild resting place.