To All Life, and Breath, and All Things

To All Life, and Breath, and All Things (mural and statement in progress). Acrylic latex on drywall, 94’L x 9’H; focal wall 25’L x 9’H
For Lydia House, Long Beach Rescue Mission, Long Beach, CA
Commencement date: October 2026

A prayer of gratitude for the privilege to witness the miracle of lives transforming all around us.

Breath + graphite
We cherish our holy scriptures as inspired by God. Defined by the original Greek theopneustos (Φεόπνευστος)—theos, meaning God, and pneustos, meaning to breathe—this living word graciously offered to us is God-breathed. In this breath, a living God speaks and reveals himself to us, declaring his eternal love for us, also teaching us how to love one another in this same manner.

Like a mist that drifts through the walls as a glorious exhalation of all that is good, handwritten scripture reminds us of the promises that are offered to us. They comfort, encourage, empower, and liberate. They are transcribed in graphite, a crystalline form of carbon, which under extreme compression, transforms into diamond. In this way, so does God transformed us. Under immense pressures, we too have the potential of being transformed into something far more valuable—a people whose character is refined and shaped in ways that allow us to more closely echo the character of God.

Seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.  - Acts 17:25 

Lesser Goldfinch
We are called to reach the lost, the last, the least, and the lonely. Of all the goldfinch species, these are the lesser. She awaits her moment to join her fellow finches who have achieved flight. She is a Lesser Goldfinch, one of five species of goldfinches in the world that were often depicted in devotional paintings during the Renaissance era due to their appetite for thistle seeds whose thorny plants reference the crown of Christ.

The Rock/Stones
While offering our hands to those in need, we think on the working of God’s hand in our own lives. We can hearken back to Joshua and the tribes whom he led to the Promised Land. After parting the River Jordan, the Lord tells them to build a monument of twelve stones—one stone contributed by one man from each of the tribes—to memorialize the miracles that he has shown them. Here at the Long Beach Rescue Mission, we share in miracles all day long. We live them out as testimonies of God’s daily graces. The goldfinch perches upon the rock, proclaiming with joy all of the miracles that she has witnessed. Together, we offer this monument in deep gratitude unto God.

Fig branch
As Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves, the fig branch reaches persistently toward the chapel, where we gather to surrender to the One who covers our iniquities to prepare our hearts for flourishing.