by Traci DePree
They had arranged that when the service first started, Eli, who had installed the window, would remove the covering on the outside of the church so that the morning light could penetrate the window full strength at the unveiling.
“I’ll have you know,” Paul went on, “she’s been very...deceitful about this project these past few months.” The congregation laughed. “She kept it hidden under lock and key in her studio at the house. Wouldn’t even let me in there! And if she did, she had a sheet over the thing. So I’m as curious as all of you are to see what she has in store for us.” He extended a hand to Kate, and she stepped up to the podium.
“I have not been deceitful!” Kate said as she leaned into the microphone. “Just private. You should see your pastor, by the way. He’s the nosiest man on the planet!”
Another laugh went up.
Then Kate took a breath and gazed across the faces gathered before her. “Seriously,” she began anew. “When we had our first real service here after rebuilding the church, I noted several things. First, how totally bare this place looked.” She smiled, as did many faces before her. “You know how I am about decorating! But more importantly, I noticed how resilient you all are.”
She looked at Livvy Jenner and her clan up front, then at Eli Weston and LuAnne Matthews, and finally at Joe Tucker and Renee Lambert near the back. “You took this church that looked for all purposes...dead and lifeless, and you breathed new life into it, giving us this beautiful place in which to worship.” Her gaze traveled to Patricia and Marissa. Mother and daughter were holding hands and smiling up at her. “And over the past few weeks, I’ve seen how, as a people, you’ve done the same in the lives of others in Copper Mill—caring for them and loving them. Praying when hope seemed lost.” She paused before going on.
“These are such wonderful examples of redemption, the little resurrections that God brings us in our everyday lives, bringing something beautiful from dismal situations. So I had the idea of creating this piece as a symbol of that redemption.” She tugged on the cloth, and it pulled free, fluttering to the floor.
The congregation gasped in awe when they saw it, and a murmur of conversation filtered through the sanctuary.
An oak was at the center of the large circular window. Its branches spread across the surface like tendrils seeking light. They twisted upward, and at their tips, tiny green buds were visible. The interplay of browns and greens and blues was simply breathtaking in the morning light.
Kate turned back to the congregation. “A tree is like that,” she explained. “In the autumn it dies. Only faith keeps us from cutting it down, because we know that come spring, it will be filled with new life, a new resurrection of sorts. So I created this in honor of all of you, and of the hope we have for new life.” As she turned to step down, the congregation broke out in thunderous applause. Then they stood to their feet, Paul grinning and clapping at the front.
Kate lifted her face to the light, as the vibrant colors filled the sanctuary with a kaleidoscope of shifting hues and grace covered them all.
About the Author
BEFORE LAUNCHING her writing career, Traci DePree worked as a fiction editor for many of the best Christian authors in the country. While still maintaining her editing career, Traci loves creating new worlds in her novels. Her hope is that, just as in Copper Mill, Tennessee, her readers will see God’s creation and inspiration within the people in their own lives. Traci is the author of the best-selling Lake Emily series, including A Can of Peas, Dandelions in a Jelly Jar and Aprons on a Clothesline. She makes her home in a small Minnesota town with her husband and their five children, the youngest via adoption.
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