THE WAY OF BECOMING
Womanist Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
Rev. Dr. Shelley Best is an artist, activist, ordained minister and yoga and meditation teacher whose life’s work has unfolded in nearly four decades of faithful service. Rooted in womanist theology and shaped by pastoral and public ministry, she weaves together prayer, sacred art, embodied practice, advocacy, and activism to cultivate healing and belonging. A graduate of Yale Divinity School, she helps communities encounter God not as abstraction, but as Holy Presence in lived experience. As founder of Creative Disruptor® and leader of TubmanWalker, she invites people into courageous truth telling, spiritual renewal, and collective transformation. Her exhibition “The Way of Becoming: Womanist Meditations on the 14 Stations of the Cross” reflects her contemplative, geometric style, often rendered in luminous gold and copper tones that create spaces of stillness and rising. Her work honors the sacredness of tears, the resilience of women, and the steady nearness of God in every season, guiding communities gently along the way of becoming. The Stations of the Cross trace Jesus’ final journey to crucifixion, mirroring the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem where pilgrims walk and pray in remembrance. Traditionally used for Lenten devotion, they invite repentance and reflection. A womanist reflection centers embodied suffering, communal resilience, sacred dignity, and God’s presence in lived experience. To Learn more visit: https://www.tubmanwalker.com/stations hello@TubmanWalker.com
STATION I: The Moment the Soul Trembles Scripture: Luke 22:39 to 46 Scripture Interpretation In Gethsemane, Jesus prays while his friends sleep. His body carries what his spirit already knows. Sweat falls like blood. He does not deny his fear. He brings it fully to God and chooses faithfulness anyway. Description Luminous layers hold solitude and surrender. Light presses through shadow, honoring the trembling body as sacred truth teller. Courage here is not the absence of fear but presence within it. For Your Life When you are exhausted or unsure, honest prayer is enough. Your trembling does not disqualify you. God meets you there.
STATION II: Sold for Slave Silver Scripture: Matthew 26:15 Scripture Interpretation Jesus is traded for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Love is reduced to currency. A human life is appraised and sold. Description Weighted forms reflect economic betrayal and disposability. The painting confronts systems that commodify bodies and distort value. For Your Life If you have been exploited or undervalued, hear this clearly: you are not for sale. Your dignity cannot be bought.
STATION III: When Love Is Wounded Scripture: Luke 22:47 to 48 Scripture Interpretation A kiss becomes betrayal. Soldiers close in. Trust fractures under fear. Description Crossing lines form an X of broken relationship. Intimacy becomes injury. For Your Life If someone you trusted wounded you, your dignity remains intact. Betrayal reflects the brokenness of the betrayer, not the worth of the beloved.
STATION IV: The Weight of Denial Scripture: Luke 22:54 to 62 Scripture Interpretation Peter denies Jesus three times. When the rooster crows, grief awakens. Description Shifting tones echo firelight, fear, and regret. The painting holds the ache of silence and the courage required to face truth. For Your Life If fear has silenced you, healing begins with honesty. Naming truth restores integrity.
STATION V: When Power Misunderstands Purpose Scripture: Luke 23:13 to 25 Scripture Interpretation Pilate condemns Jesus to preserve comfort. Justice bends to protect position. Description Rigid forms reveal systems that crush truth while appearing orderly. For Your Life If institutions failed you, God still sees you clearly. Human verdicts do not define divine calling.
STATION VI: The Price of Leadership Scripture: Luke 22:63 to 65; John 19:2 to 3 Scripture Interpretation Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns. Leadership is pierced before it is honored. Description Radiating lines frame a wounded center. Pain and purpose coexist. For Your Life If leadership has marked you, your resilience is holy. The wound does not erase the calling.
STATION VII: The Weight of Being Misunderstood Scripture: Mark 15:20 Scripture Interpretation Jesus lifts the cross and walks forward despite rejection. Description Layered grids express burden and strength interwoven. For Your Life If your work feels unseen, keep walking. Faithfulness is not measured by applause.
STATION VIII: The Unexpected Brother Scripture: Luke 23:26 Scripture Interpretation Simon of Cyrene is compelled to help carry the cross. Burden becomes shared. Description Interwoven colors reveal sacred solidarity born in difficult spaces. For Your Life If help arrived unexpectedly, name it as grace. You were never meant to carry everything alone.
STATION IX: Sacred Tears, Sacred Knowing Scripture: Luke 23:27 to 28 Scripture Interpretation Women weep openly. Their tears refuse indifference. Their witness resists silence. Description Soft light honors compassion. Grief becomes luminous strength. For Your Life If you feel deeply, your tears are sacred knowledge. Compassion is wisdom.
STATION X: The Breaking That Opens the Way Scripture: Luke 23:33, 47 Scripture Interpretation Jesus is crucified. His body breaks, yet love remains alive. Description Fragmented forms invite light through fracture. Breaking becomes threshold. For Your Life If your heart is broken, hope still breathes. What cracks open may become where light enters.
STATION XI: Grace That Finds Us Scripture: Luke 23:33 to 34, 39 to 43 Scripture Interpretation Jesus offers mercy to the repentant thief. Grace flows freely. Description Warm tones embody welcome and shared humanity. For Your Life If you feel unworthy, grace still reaches you. You are beloved beyond your worst moment.
STATION XII: Love Reweaves Itself Scripture: John 19:25 to 27 Scripture Interpretation From the cross, Jesus forms new family. Love adapts in the face of loss. Description Interlaced patterns express renewal and connection that survives rupture. For Your Life If relationships have changed, love is still working. It reforms. It endures.
STATION XIII: The Holy Stillness Scripture: Luke 23:44 to 46 Scripture Interpretation Jesus entrusts his spirit to God. Silence descends. Description Quiet geometry invites sacred pause. Stillness becomes presence. For Your Life If you are weary, rest is holy. Silence prepares what comes next.
STATION XIV: The Womb of Becoming Scripture: Luke 23:50 to 54 Scripture Interpretation Jesus is placed in the tomb. Waiting begins. Hidden life gathers in darkness. Description Deep hues cradle concealed light. What appears buried is gestating. For Your Life If you are in between seasons, becoming continues. What feels like ending may be sacred beginning.