As I was sitting before God in prayer one night, I began to ask God to empty me.

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Empty me of my desires, my wants, my dreams. Empty me of myself, my habits, my flaws. Empty me of my will, my plans, and aspirations. I lay it all down, I want to be empty. Everything humanity works hard for in life, can not enter with them into paradise. The things we hope to possess will only lead us to regress. With our last dying breath, we can't even take our very own flesh.

 

So I just want to be empty. I want to come to God with no strings attached. With nothing holding me back. I surrender my all, stripping off everything that held me in lack. Lack of his presence.

 

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Jesus emptied himself before the cross. In the garden of Gethsemane, as much as he didn't want to die on the cross, he emptied himself. He said, "Not my will but Father, your will be done." He emptied himself so that he could take on the sins of humanity.

 

The closer I get to God, the more I realize the importance of being empty. I have realized that in everything I gain in this temporary life, I can't take anything with me into eternal life. The moment my soul leaves my body, everything gets left behind. The "Tiarra" that I know gets left. The body that I now live in gets left. So I decided to work hard for spiritual blessings. To lay up for me treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Those spiritual blessings come when God can find someone whom He can trust to carry out His will on earth. He can trust you to do the work that many people despise. He can trust you to do the work that you most likely will be hated for. Work that you most likely will be persecuted for. But it is work that has a bigger impact than yourself. He can trust you to heal the brokenhearted, to deliver those in captivity. To recover the sight of those who are spiritually blind and to set at liberty those that are bruised.

 

There is a cost that comes with being empty. However, God can trust you to carry the burden of those who can't carry it for themselves. You become drafted into the perfect work that God has for the world. For Jesus and sometimes even for us, the burden can become so heavy that it feels like God forsook us. On the cross as Jesus hung by his nail-pierced hands, he cried "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" meaning, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me". The sins of the world got so heavy for Jesus that it felt like the Father left him. But the sacrifice he made in emptying himself made it possible for anyone to be saved from their sins and have eternal life in heaven.

 

The burden you're carrying may feel like God left you. It is so heavy that you feel all alone. And it may not even be your burden, you may be carrying it for someone else. But just know that Jesus can trust you to empty yourself and stand in the gap for those who can't do it for themselves.

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This sconce is inspired by forms of barrel vaulted ceiling and firing vessels that evoke a feeling of emptiness. The form contour outwardly which speaks to releasing everything that you held onto in life. And lastly, the form has a bowl shape which is symbolic of being that emptied vessel that now holds the will of God for your life.