Once upon a time, there was an unusual cemetery. It was a quiet place, where instead of headstones, it contained a collection of stones that represented the hopes and dreams that had been shattered and never came to pass but that now were beginning to come into focus.

The only trouble was that it had once been hidden deep beneath another cemetery. Another darker and more ominous one, which was much more troubling. This one contained the raw memories of traumas, those troubling recollections of the ordeals and sufferings that drowned out the childlike hopes and dreams that once had danced inside a young child's heart.

No one in their right mind would want to visit this place associated with such painful and distressing memories. To even venture into the gates of that cemetery was to open up the door to the stench and decay that lay underneath those graves. 

But if someone had the ears to hear the faint sound of water hidden deep beneath all the layers of earth and stony ground, they might choose to take the risk of following an unseen voice calling out to them from the deep.

One day, a courageous young woman woke up from a dream that was both disturbing and encouraging. She was caught up in a whirling vortex of tormenting assaults on her soul. She was trying so hard to break free, but was powerless to do so. But in the middle of her distress she heard a voice and saw a figure standing beneath all the layers of her pain. He was standing by a well, and his name was Artesian.

“Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. 
Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. 
The water I give will be an artesian spring within, 
gushing fountains of endless life.”  
John 4: 13-14 (The Message Translation)

       "Would you like to come and see what this water is made of?" said Artesian.                    Seeing her hesitation, he gently replied, 
“Don’t be afraid; God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, 
'This is God’s time to shine!'
John 4: 18-19 (The Message Translation)

Looking tenderly into her eyes, Artesian said, “This is a river composed of many sorrows. I have seen and numbered all your tears. I am holding them tenderly in this reservoir of sorrows. I see your pain.” Somehow, she felt understood! Artesian spoke from a place of compassion, not merely a distant observation.

I’m exhausted from my weeping and groaning. Night after night, I soak my pillow with tears and flood my bed with weeping. Psalm 6: 6 (Passion Translation)

You’ve kept track of all my wandering and my weeping. You’ve stored my many tears in your bottle – not one will be lost. For they are all recorded in your book of remembrance. Psalm 56: 8 (Passion Translation)

The young woman’s eyes stared intently at the book of tears. Each one of those tears reflected the situations in her life that had caused harm. But she was not alone. Someone else was weeping. Expecting to see Artesian, she gasped as she saw a tear-filled, pure white lamb.

The Lamb’s tears seemed to somehow envelop her own tears. The Lamb was sharing in her sorrows and pains in such a profound way. She felt as if she was no longer alone in the deep, dark graveyard marked by the headstone of her many traumas.

As the lamb continued to weep, something miraculous began to take place. A slow, steady flow of blood-stained tears began falling on the dark stone of her heart. What looked like hardened, impenetrable rock began to dissolve gently and gradually. The lamb's cleansing red tears soothingly softened the many layers of pain and the hardening that had developed over the years of her abuse and torment.

“You unhappy one, storm-tossed and troubled,  I am ready to rebuild you with precious stones, and your intimacy with me will be built on a foundation of sapphires.  I will make your towers of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels,  and all your walls of precious, delightful stones.” Isaiah 54: 11 – 12 (Passion Translation)

He smiled. “I have a gift for you,” he said, holding out the precious stone, illustrating the transformation from her heart of stone. “Now we have been stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.  He is given to us like an engagement ring,   as the first installment of what’s coming! He is our hope-promise of a future inheritance, which seals us until we have all of redemption’s promises and experience complete freedom— all for the supreme glory and honor of God!” Ephesians 1: 13-14 (Passion Translation)

Artesian stood before her once again, laughing as he saw her gasp with wonder at the treasure that had lain hidden deep inside her heart of stone. This is what's inside the deepest part of you. Never forget what you have seen!                   I promise that I will never leave you or forsake you!"

Next, Artesian did something quite unexpected. The glowing, multifaceted, many colored gem transformed into a plain gray stone. As she looked at him in confusion, He looked into her eyes with tenderness;  "You know what's deep inside. Paint a memorial on the outside to remind yourself of what will be revealed when we meet face to face in the future."

As the young woman began to carefully paint her experience, a profound voice seemed to whisper as the paint brush slowly flowed across the plain gray stone: “We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that this immeasurable power will be seen as God’s, not ours. Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times, we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out.” 2 Corinthians 4: 7-9 (Passion Translation)

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and eliminate death entirely. No one will mourn or weep any longer. The pain of wounds will no longer exist, for the old order has ceased.” Revelation 21: 4 (Passion Translation)

The slow, steady transformation of The Cemetery “Beloved, we are God’s children right now; however, it is not yet apparent what we will become. But we do know that when it is finally made visible,   we will be just like him, for we will see him as he truly is.  And all who focus their hope on him will always be purifying themselves, just as Jesus is pure.”  1 John 3: 2-3 Passion Translation)