Where the River Goes

A Painting Description

A Painting Inspired by Ezekiel 47:1-14

As always you are free to interpret this piece however you choose or are led to understand it.

These are simply my own thoughts which I feel inspired to share.

My own interpretations change as I revisit with pieces as time goes on, but these are my initial thoughts at the time of creation.

Here’s a poem inspired by this painting:

“Every day is a new day full of colorful surprises swimming your way.

It's hard not to want to swim against the current, thinking there's a better direction or a faster way.

But listen to the bubbles in the water & the small unnoticeable buzz of a bee.

Then, the beauty in the current,
That carries you off, you'll see.

A new day is not always enough to make you feel brand new,

It often takes looking at the simple things to get through”

  As I sit trying to gather all my contemplations and thoughts about this piece, I find I am once again within mystery! It’s a story or a parable that is symbolic and spiritual; a whimsical & surreal lesson waiting to be found out.   

  I’m quickly drawn to the water and all the musical life it holds, so much motion, so much rhythm! And to the purple girl, standing with a halo of peace radiating from her hands which are held in a worshiping & receiving posture.  I see her again, she’s there in the background, faintly fading into the sky. She’s in the water & she’s worried, her hat is getting wet and she’s losing her footing. Oh, if she would just turn around and take that spirit’s hand who’s reaching out to her.

     I look again at all the life in the water, why is she so afraid of this water, it looks so refreshing, so reviving, & so healing. But wait, there, up even further in the sky, she’s standing at a door with a spirit pointing the way, maybe this is where the story begins?

     She’s at the door of a holy place, a Life Giving Source, The Beginning. Her story has just begun! It looks like a nice place to be, but the spirit beckons her to follow him away. Why not stay there? It’s so peaceful and musical, so tranquil and glorious, but she is curious. 

     As she walks the water starts to deepen, now she’s past her toes & up to her knees! She feels something about this water is different, she touches it with curiosity. She feels something empowering about this water as it grows and becomes stronger. The water could be The Divine Spirit, softening her and nudging her. Now she wants more, she wants to follow this water more, she wants to be more enveloped in this water, it feels right. 

But then, back to the worried girl, why is she worried now? She knows how great this water is, she knows where it’s coming from and that it’s full of life & bubbles. She said she wanted more of it, but now maybe she’s changing her mind? The water is making her cold, tired, & uneasy. Why did she ever want this water in the first place? It’s nearly up to her neck & making everything harder and more complicated. 

     Somehow she presses on and finds what can only be found when you’ve made it through the scary places. She finds a surreal place where she is at peace. The spirit looks around and starts to explain the trees have healing leaves and turns to see if she’s listening, but she’s lost in a daze of worship & delight. She is encompassed in peace at last as she raises her hands to accept. 

The spirit looks in wonder at the girl for a moment, then interrupts her with a loud voice, “Daughter, have you seen this!?” What does she see? What does she recognize? What awareness does she have? She’s now at a place where the water; that Life, it’s overwhelming. She couldn’t conquer it; she couldn’t swim through to the other side if she wanted. She’s in a world of healing & beauty; magic and mysterious wonder. All the water is here; all that was only a trickle at first. She’s made it! 

      This parable is a parable of division, look, read for yourself. It talks about the swamps that the water doesn’t purify, it talks about the land that heals and the land that destroys. Go read for yourself, maybe it will speak to you in a different way. I find that right now it says to me that the water is The Divine. First we begin at the temple, our own bodies, first Divinity shows through us and in us just a little bit. Then as we want more of the Source as we seek more of their Life, as we desire more of their Peace, we find ourselves on a journey of growth and closeness with The Source. 

     We get closer to The Divine and we want to get even closer, we experience more of The Divine and we want to experience even more, we walk with The Source and we want to walk with them more & more! Until something hard comes and we get distracted by worthless things or worry about pointless things & we take our eyes off of Divinity and get to feeling like we might drown. Or maybe we are so close to The Divine; so good at hearing them, that they ask something hard of us, something we’re convinced is too hard! Yet it’s not enough to make us turn back because we continue getting glimpses from time to time of the spiritual realm, our reward, where saltwater becomes fresh and the trees provide food for healing. Every once & a while we’ll see into the promised land, we’ll see our reward; our inheritance, if only we keep trusting!

     But there is division, not everyone makes it, we remember how we passed by the swamps and we remember how we fell down the waterfalls into all the rocks and we know that it’s not by chance that we got to this place! No, not by chance, not by swimming better or stronger, only by a gift of grace filled guidance. There was always a guide, always a voice calling out, “Do you see this? Do you see me? Do you see how I’ve led you to this place?” 

When we’ve finally made it to the place; that new heaven & new earth, that we only see faintly now as if it were a reflection, we’ll know we were brought by a life giving river that flows from the heart of The Divine. A river that fills us up, trickle by trickle, drop by drop, till we are overflowing and bubbling over with Life, that life-water satisfying the thirst around us. Partnering with the multitudes of others who embody the trickle of water from the throne-room to create an unstoppable river of people, healing and nourishing everything we touch because we flow from the heart of Divinity Itself! “Everything will live where the river goes.” Everyone will live who follows The River!

Questions for thought:

• What stands out to you in Ezekiel 47:1-14? 

• Are there things in Ezekiel 47 that confuse you?

• What first comes to mind when you think of what water could symbolize? 

• Read 1 John 5:6-8, John 3:5, & Mark 1:8 What is the difference between baptism with water and baptism with The Spirit & what similarities do they have? 

• Read Galatians 5:25 What would it look like if we lived & acted in the flow & current of The Spirit?

• Where have you been afraid and resisted the current Divinity has for your life? 

• Why would the spirit in this passage ask Eziekiel, “Have you seen this”?

• If the land is thriving by receiving this water that flows from the sanctuary, how might our life thrive or not thrive based on where we find our source of life and nourishment? 

• What could this division in Ezekiel 47:15 mean?

• What inheritance is verse 15 talking about and what inheritance do we have to look forward to now?