The Meaning Behind the Feather and Flowers
a devotional by Leah Powley
Our son drew this many years ago when I was homeschooling him and his sister. He
has always enjoyed sketching and doodling and really has a gift for it. When I saw this
drawing, I LOVED it!!! It reminded me of that feather verse from the Bible:
“Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who
satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles’.
Psalm 103:5-6
There are also these verses with the word feather and they bring me comfort:
“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth
shall be thy shield and buckler.” Psalm 91:4 This verse uses feathers and wings as a
picture of God’s protection, safety, and care – like a bird sheltering it’s young.
**Does it bring you comfort knowing that God protects you? How so?
Another comforting verse is Psalm 17:8: “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me
under the shadow of thy wings.”
The feather and flowers in my son’s drawing speak of tenderness after survival from
sexual abuse. Something still alive, still reaching, even after seasons of pain. The dark
feather resembles the darkness and weight of trauma, while the opening of the flowers
reminds us that healing does not erase the wound; it grows alongside it. For a group
like ours: Learning To Breathe Again, seven years is holy ground. It means people kept
showing up. It means breath returned where there was once only survival.
Other scripture versus that I found were:
“He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners…..” Isaiah 61:1
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.” Psalms 27:13
“He heals the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
Trauma still breaths. It did for me. Before healing, I found myself grasping for air. I
didn’t realize this until after I started counseling. Grasping for air was really wanting, begging and pleading for someone to recognize how I was “acting out” or someone offer time to spend with me so they may ask questions about my life. Not that I know for sure that I would have shared. However, I won’t ever know the answer to that.
I never really started breathing until after I received healing and was affirmed that nothing was my fault when it came to my abuse. After 9 months of counseling, I
remember thinking that I can finally “breath again.”
That was the beginning of this ministry.
Trauma teaches the body to stay alert, the mind to stay guarded, and the heart to stay hidden. For survivors of sexual abuse, life can become less about living and more
about surviving. Breathing becomes shallow. Trust becomes dangerous. Silence becomes familiar.
But, God is a God of breath!!
In the book of Genesis, He breathed life into dust. In the book of Ezekial, He commanded dry bones to live again. In Gospel of John, the risen Christ breathed peace over fearful disciples. God does not ask us to pretend we were never wounded. He meets us in the wound. Jesus kept His scars after resurrection.
This matters.
Resurrection means redemption. His wounds were no longer symbols of defeat, but evidence that death did not win. For survivors, healing is not forgetting. It is
discovering that what tried to destroy you does not get the final word. Sometimes healing looks dramatic. More often, it looks like this drawing: a dark feather and quiet flowers. The feather holds the shadows – grief, the memories, the anger, the questions.
The flowers do not deny the darkness; they bloom beside it. That is how grace often works. God grows beauty not by denying pain, but by entering it.
Seven years of Learning To Breathe Again is not just a support group. It is a testimony.
Seven in scripture often symbolizes completion and sacred work. God created the
world in seven days. Jericho fell after seven days of marching. Seven years means
God has been doing holy work in hidden places.
Every tear is shared.
Every story is spoken.
Every boundary learned.
Every prayer whispered through shaking hands.
Every moment someone chooses not to quit.
Holy ground. Healing can be rarely fast, but it is deeply biblical.
Jesus asked people, “Do you want to be made well?” Not because healing is simple,
but because healing requires trust. It means stepping into vulnerability after violation. It
means learning that God is not like the one who harmed you.
Abuse says: You are powerless
God says: You are mine
Abuse says: Be silent
God says: I have heard your cry
Abuse says: You are ruined
God says: I make all things new
Healing is not becoming who you were before the pain. It is becoming who God always
intended you to be. Sometimes survivors ask, “Where was God?” That is a sacred
question. And while no easy answer can satisfy deep suffering, scripture shows us this:
“God is never absent from suffering. He is the God who enters it. He is Emmanuel –
God with us. He is near to the brokenhearted. He does not stand far off, giving advice
from heaven. He comes close. He weeps. He stays.
And sometimes His healing comes through community.
Rectangle tables with chairs.
A safe room.
A trusted voice saying “I believe you.”
People learning to breathe together.
That, too, is ministry.
That, too, is resurrection.
Seven years ago I doubted God for over a year about starting up this support group.
God’s plans are always better than ours!!! It started in my backyard with one woman
and I promised and dedicated my heart to always serving the women who have been
hurt from abuse. As long as God keeps sending women to start their healing journal, I
will be here. This group has my heart, and I will always be grateful for each one
attending.
May God have ALL the glory!!!!!!