Early in the morning I had an image of a plain gold bell. Nothing particularly prophetic came to mind during a prayer time for Harbour Church, although I was sure the bell image was for painting in worship for them, so on the way to church I started thinking of bell idioms: ringing the bell as the ‘all clear’, six bells all’s well, ‘ring a bell’ meaning something is familiar… but it wasn’t until I arrived at Harbour that I thought of church bells ringing signalling the arrival of the bride.As I painted I definitely felt the joyful celebration of preparing for the wedding feast. Ring the bells, the “bride is ready”, the bride is coming! It’s time! It’s time!
Towards the end of worship I began to skip the brush around the bells with a vine, and added the detail of the bells entwined with the vine. The symbol of the bride grafted into the vine.
I believe the increase of “bridal gifts” in our worship services – gold, gemstones – are signs and wonders signifying it’s time for the wedding.
