The Painted Church
by: Bianca Schaefer
The Painted Church
We put the co-ordinates in the GPS – Pu’uhonoa O Honaunau National Park – on the Big Island of Hawaii. My husband and I were on our honeymoon and had rented a car to explore the Island.
The GPS led us up a mountain, and after a while, I said to my husband, “I don’t think we’re going the right way. The park is supposed to be located somewhere along the coast.”
Cruising along the mountainside overlooking the deep, blue ocean, we were nowhere near our planned destination. Suddenly to our right, we noticed a sign that read, “The Painted Church, next left”. Curiosity piqued our interest so we travelled the narrow winding road leading up to the church. As we stepped outside of the car, we saw a pretty, little white church.
We entered through the front doors and took a moment of pause to take it all in. There we stood in awe at the magnificent artwork that had been painted all throughout the interior of the church. The sun was beaming brightly through the windows and revealed the splendor of all the colours; red, orange, yellow and blue, green, purple, black and white.
We sat down in silence on one of the wooden pews momentarily, and suddenly heard some heavy breathing coming from the corner behind us. Looking in that direction, I saw a dog having an afternoon snooze hidden beneath the last pew. “Some watchdog,” I chuckled.
As we went back outside, we noticed a path of white wooden crosses about eight feet tall, leading up to a large statue of Mary holding Jesus in her arms. We wandered over and I said, “What’s this?” That’s when my husband began to tell me about the “Stations of the Cross.” His childhood Catholic upbringing had taught him the 14 stations (devotions), that focus on specific events during Jesus’ last hours on earth as a human.
As he began to explain them to me, my thoughts and imagination took me back in time, when Jesus was on his way to his crucifixion. Carrying his cross, wearing a crown of thorns after having been beaten and tortured. Tears began to run down my cheeks at the thought of what Jesus endured. After the final station, I stood in front of three steps that led up to statue of Mary and Jesus.
I sat on the steps and wept.
Sensing I needed some time to myself, my husband wandered off and left me alone with my emotions. After a few minutes, my sorrow disappeared and I was overcome by deep love. I didn’t quite understand it. All I knew in that moment was that God was telling me He loved me and I’ve never been able to compare that love to anything else since.
But earlier that year I struggled to see God’s love. Two family members’ death with a third’s looming cancer diagnosis clouded our recent engagement with dread, fear and grief. Was it right to get married with everything we had going on? Only God knew. As I sat on the steps reliving the anguish of the previous few months and thinking about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the Lord reminded me, He still loves me.
Wiping away my tears, didn’t stop more from coming.
I was humbled.
It was no accident we ended up at The Painted Church.
Hearing about the Stations of The Cross also reminded me, I wasn’t the only one who had suffered; Jesus had too. Only he suffered because of his deep love for me. All it took to remind me of His love, was a little detour to a painted church.
Have you ever felt like God has forgotten about you?
Or questioned him, asking why, what is the purpose or when will the hurt stop?
As believers we often say, “God’s plan is better than ours,” but when it hits close to home it can be hard to believe in his promises when emotions cloud our faith.
In moments of grief and despair we can even find ourselves in shock – because we didn’t see “it” coming.
Though the disciples didn’t see Jesus’ death coming, God certainly did. All along, it was His plan for our redemption. We may not always understand God’s plan or His ways.
Maybe the point is, we don’t always have to try to make sense of things. As long as we keep seeking Him, laying our pain at His feet, He’ll keep reminding us: His love was always there, still is to this day, and always will be for ever more.
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16
Bianca Schaefer is a Writer, Certified Life, and Business Coach, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, and Personal Trainer who inspires a global community through nourishing their body, mind, and spirit with delicious foods, an active lifestyle, and a mindset that believes anything is possible. Her mission is to help others realize their greatest potential and discover God’s love. Her articles and blogs have been featured in The Local Biz Magazine in the Greater Toronto Area and she is putting the finishing touches on her first book, which intersects physical and spiritual health. She lives with her husband, Phil in Toronto and enjoys being a step-mom to her two adult daughters, Andrea and Nicole. Find out more about Bianca at: http://biancaschaefer.com