Threshold

Oil on wood, 14”x11”

From the series "Full to the Brim" from A Sanctified Art.

Scripture reference: John 13:1-17, 31b-35

The hardest time of a loved one’s transition in my opinion are the moments right before it happens, when the family gathers to say goodbye and usher them into Life Eternal. It may be difficult or impossible to remember a time when they weren’t in your life. How will you go on without them? You don’t know what’s on the other side of this journey, which makes the moment particularly unsettling.

When I visited the Holy Land, I found myself regularly taking off my shoes and stepping into whatever body of water was there. For me, there is a liminality to standing with my feet submerged, not far from dry ground. Whether a boat ride or baptism, you’re going somewhere you’ve never been when you decide to take that step.

The disciples have no idea where their own journey will take them. Peter is at first reluctant to even dip his toes into the water -- into the liminality. But they’re assured they’d be with Jesus on the other side.

I used a photo of my own feet as I stood on the banks of the Sea of Galilee as a reference for this painting. Unknown to me at the time, the Golan Heights were about to be bombed that day. But at that time, the water calmly danced over my ankles, making its own art as it bent and reflected light around them. I’ve signed the piece in such a way that invites you to turn it any number of ways. What changes for you when the feet are facing downward, upward, or sideways? I invite you to embrace that disorientation, if only for a moment, and try to find your footing.