“Renewed Heart”

This piece was born on the trail.

It began long before paint ever touched canvas (or rock😉)— back when my heart was still carrying decades of wounds, wrong turns, and quiet grief I didn’t yet know how to name.

For 58 years, I lived without the Holy Spirit.

I believed in God, but I kept Jesus buried — busy surviving, striving, providing, and pushing through life the best way I knew how. Along the way came pain, divorce, loss, disappointment, and arrows I didn’t see coming.

Each one left a mark.

The dark, twisted heart on the left tells that part of the story.

It is layered with arrows — not as symbols of blame, but of reality.

Life wounds us.

The longer we live without Christ, the more those wounds accumulate. The heart becomes heavy, guarded, misshapen — still beating, but exhausted.

The turning point came when I was baptized and received the Holy Spirit.

That moment didn’t erase my past — it redeemed it.

Above the center of the piece is a cross and the word Intentional.

That word was given to me during a sermon at church and confirmed again and again on the trail.

Faith doesn’t drift us into transformation. It must be chosen — daily, deliberately, intentionally.

The rainbow arc represents the covering of Jesus’ blood — not as something distant or abstract, but as protection during the process of repentance. Repentance isn’t punishment; it’s restoration. It is the slow, courageous work of surrendering what no longer belongs in our hearts.

The sponges were inspired by something I noticed while running the trail — an old, weathered sponge resting near the place where I fell and nearly lost my life. A sponge absorbs everything it touches. So does a heart. Without Christ, we absorb pain, bitterness, fear, and shame. With Him, our hearts are washed and made new.

The renewed heart on the right is brighter — not because storms have stopped, but because peace has entered.

The flowers growing from the heart represent faith taking root. Some blooms come easily. Others grow through cracks and hardship. The mustard-seed flower is a reminder that faith doesn’t need to be large — only tenacious.

Surrounding the hearts are butterflies — light-bearers. They represent moments of encouragement, guidance, and grace that appear along the journey when faith becomes intentional. Sometimes they come through people. Sometimes through Scripture. Sometimes through quiet nudges we only recognize later.

Connecting the two hearts is an 18-inch “Cord of Hope”— the distance from the head to the heart. It represents the daily struggle between living by the world’s logic and living from God’s love.

Bridging that distance is the work of true surrender.

Woven into that cord are three small hearts — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — no longer outside us, but dwelling within.

Along the “Cord of Hope” the words Peace and Joy☮️

Not because life becomes easy — but because when Christ lives in your heart, you are no longer walking alone.

This piece is called The Renewed Heart because it tells the truth:
Transformation is possible.
Redemption is real.
And no heart is too worn to be made new.

If this story stirred something in your heart, you are not alone.
God’s love is everywhere — all you have to do is seek Him.