The Sojourner's Rose

Sailors of long ago looked to the heavens to find their way on this earth. Though the seas would churn and the winds would blow, the heavens remained their constant guide. Burning stars above would chart their course across tumultuous seas, the dark depths threatening to claim their lives. Beyond the stars, these sailors spoke of a greater force that they believed kept them safe and guided them home. This was the Divine. In the center of this piece is the sojourner, represented by a ship. A ‘sojourner’ is a traveler who does not stay in one place for long (Psalm 39:12; Hebrews 11:16; Philippians 3:20). We are merely passing through this world with eternity as our destiny. The four points of the compass mark the sign of the cross. We find ourselves, the sojourner, bound to the center of the cross, signifying the profundity that it was our place on the cross which Christ died (Romans 5:8). Perfectly subdividing the four points of the cross are four angels: God’s ordained host of heaven