Order includes:

• high-res image file formatted for print

• high-res image file formatted for web/projection

• A PDF of the Artist's statements & scripture reference for the visual

• A visio divina Bible Study Guide for you to use this image in a group study session that incorporates the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing."

Credit Info:

When printing and sharing online, please always include the following credits:
Artist's name | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

From the Artist:

“The day my grandmother died, my mother-in-law called. My grandmother died peacefully in old age, and yet, my mother-in-law knew the significance of her loss. She knew how my grandmother had helped raise my sister and me when our mother died when we were young. She knew that my grandmother was the matriarch of my large extended family, and that her death would usher in a new reality for us. She knew that my grief for my mother—well-worn and familiar—would bleed into this new, unfamiliar grief. She knew that losing my grandmother would feel like losing a parent all over again.

I missed her call, but she left a voicemail. Softly, her voice message began: ‘Lisle, I just heard about your Nana…’ Then her voice cracked, she sighed, and began to weep. After a few moments of weeping quietly, she found her words again: ‘Anyway, I love you. Call me if you want to talk.’

I don’t remember much of what others have said to me in the fresh fog of grief, but I will never forget that.

In a way, she didn’t need to ask me what I needed. Without assumption or question, she simply entered into my pain and joined me there. Her profound act of solidarity gave me great comfort when little comfort was to be found.

In this image, I wanted to evoke the emotional impact of rending one’s clothing in solidarity with someone who is hurting. While this ancient cultural practice might feel curious to us now, I love that it’s an embodied way to tear away the armor that guards our own hearts so we can truly show up—tenderly—to join another in their pain.

If you are hurting right now, may this image remind you: you are not alone. God’s heart is breaking open for you.”

—Lisle Gwynn Garrity