In the places we are most broken, God begins His greatest work of restoration.
As sacred art is restored, so are we—God meeting us in our brokenness to make something beautiful again.
A Journey through
Love, Loss, and
Sacred Restoration
There can be moments in our lives that suddenly separate our journey between what we knew to be our life, and what becomes a completely different version of our reality.
That moment came for me in 2014 – when my husband John fell out of our attic during a home improvement project, 25 feet down our stairwell, and suffered paralysis. In that moment the ordinary rhythm of our lives was changed forever, and our new journey of suffering, surrendering and learning to trust more in God began in earnest.
Beautiful Agony is a story of the joy of our marriage, the grief of John’s accident and loss, and the hope of my journey back into wanting to live again.
Joy is not often associated with marriage these days. The mere mention of it may even be avoided at all costs. I’m thrilled to be able to relate to you how joyful my marriage to John was, along with all the twists and turns that a dedicated marriage should require. Finding a way to love God more than each other brought us to a joyful peace in our marriage that we would have never imagined possible.
Grief is definitely something our current society would like to steer clear of. To love much is also to hurt much. Love is a risky affair. The accident and loss of my beloved spouse tamed me right down, and I struggled to keep going forward while I continued to function. Learning to dive into the hard work of a grief and trauma journey took all that I had to give.
Hope is always necessary to keep us from falling into despair. While trying to climb out of the pit of sorrow, I gradually learned that after obtaining the appropriate level of self-care, the true ladder out of that dark pit was being able to help others. And the blessing of attending the Traditional Catholic Latin Mass was the anchor that held me steady during those early grief years as life tossed me to and fro.
May John and my story reach whomever wishes to learn of our journey. And may the blessings that we received touch others who are looking for light in this world of darkness.
Read more on Substack—where tradition, grief, and hope are woven together—and discover the heart of the mission.
Restore for the Ages
From the time of the first broken statue of Mary that my late husband John and I restored in 1991, it was obvious that God was wishing us to use the gifts that He had given to us for sacred art restoration. John had developed plastering and sculpting skills from his dental lab technician work. I had painting and color matching abilities from my attendance at an art school.
What began as a side business soon blossomed into something much more meaningful. The look on people’s faces when we returned their great-grandparent’s damaged statue became worth more to us than the money we received for our restoration work. They could now see what this family heirloom used to look like years ago, and their statue would most likely inspire in them a renewed sense of zeal for their faith in God.
We soon were asked to work on the underside of the Spiral Staircase at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, NM, with statues in a Cemetery, with statues for various Churches in the Denver Archdiocese, and with statues for private collections.
After the loss of my husband in 2014 I carried on with our art restoration work, restoring the 16 foot Crucifix at the Augustine Institute in Greenwood Village, CO, the Altars and various pieces at Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder, CO, and working on the restoration of the Sanctuary at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Littleton, CO.
It’s not possible to restore all broken statues. Yet it’s so worth it to me to place the love, effort and perseverance into bringing the look of a broken statue to its once former beauty.
A young man working on the Sanctuary flooring at Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder once said to me that the work we were doing that day was “for the ages”, and that it would be there in the Church long after we were gone.
Indeed.
“I have no more to say but to recommend your case and mine to Almighty God, the Searcher of Hearts, who send us his grace, and see us at accord before the day of payment, to the end we may at last be friends in heaven, when all injuries shall be forgotten.” -St. Edmund Campion - 1580