Mariposa is a meeting place. You could say love lives here. Our mission is for every person who comes to Mariposa to feel loved. Why? Well, because God is love, and to know God is to know love.
Meeting Kristinjoy
Mariposa is how we met Kristinjoy and her friends, a beautiful group of creatives. They invited me over to the main house and when I walked in I saw a table teeming with creative wonders as the sweet faces looked up from their projects to greet me.
I sat at the table and visited with them. Kristinjoy told me about a book she and her cousin-in-law wrote: A Star for You. It’s about Jesus’ lineage. Elizabeth (inspired by authors, C.S. Lewis & Dr. Seuss) wrote it, and Kristinjoy illustrated it. I loved it so much, I bought one for my son and daughter and one for Mariposa.
I had been talking to my guy about doing a mural at Mariposa for quite some time. When I saw Kristinjoy’s illustrations, I felt God’s nudging to ask her to do it. I asked and she said Yes! I was so excited!
Luke 11:9
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Being Intentional
We talked for 4-5 months planning the piece, and every part of it was intentional. I had thought I wanted a single scarlet thread running through the piece, but Kristinjoy wanted to be sure that the mural felt right in the space and aligned with all that Mariposa already was in the making. I couldn’t have agreed more.
We decided on a pure black and white piece, but a few days after we met to pour over the mock-ups, Kristinjoy asked me what I thought about adding gray. As soon as I saw her latest interpretation I loved it even more. It was softer and welcoming, somehow it was more of all the things I had hoped it would be. Above all, we wanted meaning and depth, beckoning the observer to come closer, to not only look but to really see. So, on February 17th it began!
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Gray Areas Of Life
I watched in wonder as each layer unfolded before me. Kristinjoy and I talked while she worked, about God, about life, about the mural, and what it could be for Mariposa guests. For all our intentionality something else was unfolding, something God was showing me. I told Kristinjoy – you know, life is full of gray. It’s messy and complex, and complicated because people are messy, complex, and complicated. I remember growing up, as a kid, I thought everything should be black or white, and that life should be fair. But I quickly learned, even as a child, that was not so.
The more she layered, the more beauty I saw in the gray. More than that, as I looked at the butterfly and the timepiece, I saw what really mattered. Those two images had remained pure black and white. There was no gray. I don’t recall us truly deciding that was so, but there they were. God reminded me there is so much beauty in the gray, even when it doesn’t seem or feel like it. Some of the most amazing growth (change) happens in the gray.
Can You Imagine?
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
When I looked at the contrast of the butterfly and timepiece compared to the branch, flowers, snails, and cocoons, I heard God saying, “This is what’s important, my child. This. Your rebirth and your eternity. It’s all that matters. Enjoy this time you have here. Love on others, but keep your eyes on Me. I am for you.”
Challenge of the week
I am doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it? My child, you are loved. So what can we make of this for the challenge this week? When you are facing THAT challenge this week, even in the times it feels gray, know that God is there with you and will transform you in the experience. Know that God will prevail, and He will do it through you. So be it!
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