Rooted & Rising: Growth from the Greenhouse

About Prophetic Art on the Road

E's Greenhouse Season 1 Episode 15

What happens when God calls a 60-something grandmother to hit the road in a transit van to create prophetic art for strangers? Sharon Elmendorf's extraordinary journey shows us that divine purpose often arrives in unexpected packages.

For nine years, Sharon and her husband have traversed America's highways in their meticulously organized van, following a clear directive: "stop for one, stop for some." Through watercolor art, she delivers messages that speak directly to people's hearts in ways she couldn't possibly know through human understanding alone. This radical mid-life transformation offers a powerful testament to following spiritual guidance, even when it leads to unfamiliar territory.

The conversation shifts to the universal challenge of mothering adult children. Sharon's wisdom, earned through raising four daughters and nurturing nineteen grandchildren, centers on a profound yet simple approach: "Don't say, but pray." She shares how her adult children have finally begun to understand her perspective now that they're raising their own families, with one daughter recently acknowledging, "Y'all didn't raise us that way. I am so sorry."

Most compelling is Sharon's vulnerable account of emotional healing. She describes a divine encounter where God used "the sword of the Spirit" to address unhealed wounds in her heart. When confronting her deepest pain, God surprised her by collecting the "soil" in a golden flowerpot, explaining, "this is the soil from which others will grow." This powerful metaphor illustrates how our most painful experiences become the foundation for helping others heal.

The episode concludes with Sharon's passionate endorsement of forgiveness as essential to wellbeing. Through her experience of being deeply wounded by slander, she learned that blessing those who hurt us "changes us first," gradually transforming resentment into genuine compassion.

Join us for this heartfelt conversation that weaves together themes of divine guidance, intergenerational wisdom, emotional healing, and the freedom that comes from living authentically in faith. Then visit esgreenhouse.com to connect with other women seeking growth and purpose.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of Rooted and Rising Growth from the Greenhouse. I'm so excited that you joined us today and I hope you'll check out our website at esgreenhousecom esgreenhouse for excellent women who can find we're here to support one another, to build each other up. And today I'm talking to another friend, sharon. Pronounce your last name Elmendorf Elmendorf yeah, yes, elmendorf, and she and I had such a great conversation at a retreat yesterday that I just felt like it would just encourage you and build you up. And so here we are.

Speaker 2:

We'll see, we'll have another conversation?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we'll see. So, sharon, why don't you just give us a little bit of a picture into the life you lead today? Oh, because that's kind of fun.

Speaker 2:

On the road.

Speaker 2:

On the road, a settling that happened in my life and my husband's still ruling from oh gosh, we're in our ninth year. But what happened was that, suddenly, the story behind it, that God sent us on the road to do prophetic art little pieces of paper where people would play with watercolor on it and it was to stop for one or stop for some was the direction that I received, and it's been a crazy adventure because it could be anybody anywhere, the most unlikely thing she would think a gray-headed woman would be asked by God to do, and it's been one of the most exciting, wonderful things. I love getting to do it. So people will pay and then God will show a picture in it and when the picture shows up, then you tell them and it speaks to them and it'll be something that they'll understand that I don't have to but I get to deliver the message. So that happened eight years ago. So we'll start the ninth now and we travel all over America and that's what we do and your little band that you've built out that band.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and it's amazing.

Speaker 1:

One of the things that I loved when I saw that band was your system of organization. Really, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, she opens up the back and that's where her art supplies are, oh yeah. Inside everything has its spot, which really I probably would be a disorganized person, except that I learned that, like when everything has a place, my life is not chaos.

Speaker 2:

Oh boy, you're deceived.

Speaker 1:

No, it really helps me If I know where the keys go. I can't tell you how many times I've lost them.

Speaker 2:

Well, see I can start it and move it on the right. Yeah, and my husband's a carpenter, or I was, and he's retired now. So when we started we only had a key of soul and that was really fun because he rebuilt the back and everything. And about a year and a half later, along came that van and it was hail damaged and we got this van and he so it was a transit van, a work van, so he built nine drawers to the back, nine drawers to the front, and so there's art supply on there. But I have to gut it every now and get a grip. But yeah, it's been a lot of fun well, it's got to be hard too.

Speaker 1:

Uh, I mean, there's a great fun to it, but, like you said it, you have to redo it again because you really have very little space yes, yes, to like to make the bed at night, you've got to take well, that's my fault.

Speaker 2:

You take the pillows all up, boom to the front seat privacy curtain, and so you see, in the front, everything goes in, everything's up there. Yeah, two little chairs set up and then we sit and have coffee and stuff in the morning, and then I'm bringing it all back out. But I love it, I love everything about it.

Speaker 1:

The freedom it. But I love it. I love everything about it. The freedom, it's so much fun. You know when you think about how you were raised.

Speaker 2:

I realized I was a cabin maker. I was the little kid that would go out and build my little fort and stuff and bring my dollies in.

Speaker 1:

I did it, I love that I love the camping.

Speaker 2:

It's so fun.

Speaker 1:

And I found it, you know, like I was that kind of kid. But then I went years and years working doing things you're supposed to do. But then when I was 60 I used to think I'd fall off a mountain so I couldn't hike. But some girlfriends kind of egged me did you say 60, or 16, 60, 60. So I got married when I was 16. So till then, till 16. Well, so 60,.

Speaker 2:

I started hiking again and kind of found that little girl, that dimmer inside me, because I would have been called a dimmer when I was young. I love it.

Speaker 1:

So tell me about like you know, a lot of times we talk about things that hard periods that we went through, that God carried us through yes, that's amazing, and we couldn't have made it without that, and we do that. We do that for you guys, because we want you to feel like you're not the only one.

Speaker 1:

Oh no, as you go through these hard things and for your faith to grow so that you know that God's not going to ever leave you. He will never leave you, he will get you through whatever you're in the face, and so, yeah, so can you think of a time, just maybe one time that was pretty significant in your life that you'd like to share today, because we don't have enough time Things that happened to me, just of something that was big and significant and you had to trust God because there was nothing else you could do.

Speaker 1:

I do that daily. Well, that's true.

Speaker 2:

You do, but you grew into that. I grew into that because I was raised in a home where the mom wasn't real healthy and Daddy was at work and I had two older brothers, and because Mom couldn't attend to me. When I was little, I wasn't at school yet. It's go out and play, and we were in. Mom couldn't attend to me. When I was little, I wasn't at school yet. It's go out and play, yeah, and we were in the country. So I went back. My dad you know I'm 78, or about to be anyway so we were talking World War II yeah, I was right after.

Speaker 2:

But all the men came with backpacks and whatnot and they had these little fry pans that pull over. Okay, I would go in the house, I'd get bacon and those kitchen matches and newspaper and I would hike out in the woods and I'd build the fire. I'm not even in school, yeah, yeah, and I would. I'd cook my bacon and eat it half raw on the way. That's awesome. But you look back on that and you learn to create. Yeah, you learn to create and make by what you find, because that was life. If I wanted to build a fort, then, or my, my little house, yeah, and then I had to go find the materials uh, heart that just fit right in. When I look back, I realize all that stuff has played out so much in my life and what things that I needed to do, things that came along later as a grown up. And you find a way to make it work. You get creative because, oh, we need this. And if we don't have it, what can we devise?

Speaker 1:

That's what makes you have little problems. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Well, would you write that one down too? Yeah, I will.

Speaker 1:

I want to show this to my husband. Yes, yes, yes, I'm a problem solver. You're organized, you're creative. Yeah, whoa, whoa. So like, did you ever—I'm sure there are more than one but did you ever face a time where you really did feel helpless, but then you reached out to God, feel like I'm on?

Speaker 2:

the end? Yes, absolutely. And can you talk to us? Yes, the whole reason we ended up on the road was that I have 19 grandkids now. At that time I think there were 14. And there are a lot of things that can happen in that big of a family and they're not all pretty. And I had come to a place I was very near going over there. I love that. Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings as you go down.

Speaker 1:

She's reading a little bit. I'm going. Yes, ma'am, yeah, I'm going to just pull that out.

Speaker 2:

You're flapping like an eagle. Please let it work. See, I'm supposed to soar like an eagle. No, yeah, and the reason we were in Nebraska and that's where God called us was because they were dear, dear friends of sitcom said come and it was time to go. So you were living close to kids before that. Kids are very close, all around me.

Speaker 1:

All the very close Now they're 19,.

Speaker 2:

And there weren't that many of them at the time. So my phone's dinking, that's okay, my watch, anyway, it was there that God called us. But yes, I was about to crash because the difficulties had—or the challenges in the family had become pretty great with kids and whatnot, and this is bits and mirrors back. Now you look at me and go oh, praise God.

Speaker 1:

No, but that's—you know, we talk a little bit when I talk to women, oh you mean past wounds and stuff, no, but we talk about raising. Like, how do you mother adult children and it's a really tough thing to do, because they really want their own way, which we did too, because they really want their own way, which we did too they want to go their own way. But you see places where, oh my gosh, don't do that. But if you say that, they're not going to receive it.

Speaker 2:

That's saying it's often don't say but pray. Yes say, but pray Don't say anything but be that there, and that is why.

Speaker 1:

I learned that. Finally, I think I frustrated them in the beginning, just trying to give them advice and it wasn't. But this is the thing when you're an adult child, I feel like they see it as your mom is saying you're a failure and they're having to tell you how to do it.

Speaker 2:

Oh, there's one thing about it. We have four daughters and there's one thing about we have four daughters and there's one thing about it. They have always honored us, they've always respected us and to this day they'll go sit on the lap. You know, yeah, that's good. And growing up when they especially in teens if they did something wrong they couldn't keep a secret and they'd come in and sit over. I'm going to pour out this, catch your breath. But they've always loved us and honored us. Listen to us, no, but I love it. Now, where they are, it wasn't very long ago, just a few months ago, and we were standing in our kitchen and she said Mom, dad, I have no idea why. I've always wondered, but I don't know why I made the choices I made. Y'all didn't raise us that way. No, we didn't. But she said I am so sorry because now they've got kids, and I think each one of them has, and one of them the other day said Mama, it was Mother's Day. I get it now.

Speaker 1:

I think we all go through that. I mean, oh my gosh, I had to apologize to my mom.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, I don't know if I can say this or not, but I'm going to. My parents are buried in Bandary, texas, a little hill country town up here, and we were with a motorcycle not a game, but a CMA Christian motorcycle here. And we were with a motorcycle not a game, but a cma christian motorcycle and we were coming through bandera and I said I'll meet y'all down at the dairy queen, where they're going, and my parents are buried here. I need to go talk to them. And I said so I went over to the cemetery and, um, I had it out with my mom and I'm standing there. I'm going where were y'all? Why didn't you do this and this and this and this? And I went phew, man. And I start going off to get on the motorcycle and go ahead and leave. And the Lord said go back. So I went, okay. So I went back and so I went. Why when were you? And I'm not thinking Mama was sick, daddy's working.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, not from your perspective yet.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I softened it, but I had it again, walked back to the motorcycle, said no, go back again, and that time it went. Mama Daddy, thank you so much. You did everything you could. We were such boogers, we were real rascals, do you know?

Speaker 1:

we have four too. We have two girls on both sides, the youngest and the oldest, and then two boys in the middle. I loved that. They were wild and strong, but it came with the struggle, because I was strong and I did not want them getting hurt and they were going to get hurt Because I loved that part of them, but I also didn't want to see them suffer. No, we never do, but there are times they're going to.

Speaker 1:

They have to Because we live in the earth, we're not going to figure out. God never promised us that times they're going to.

Speaker 2:

They have to, yeah, because we live in the earth. We're not yet. We're going to have to figure out. God never promised us that we're not going to go through stuff but it's going to work for good on the long run.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it is, and ours are wrong now too, and we have I feel like we have great relationships. Probably one of the hardest times for me is just figuring, navigating that so that I could let them be themselves and also still try to intervene when I saw them heading for danger, and I feel like they took it a lot of the times as I was judging them and I wasn't. I was just, oh, I love this one.

Speaker 2:

I love this one when they say this is my decision. It doesn't impact anybody but myself.

Speaker 1:

Oh, oh, oh, oh oh.

Speaker 2:

And now they're going. I get it now, but no, it was hard. There were very, very hard times, and some of it like, oh, they might see this one day. So I want to say, well, but it's okay.

Speaker 1:

You know it's like okay if they see it, just to know that right now we look back and we say, wow, y'all turned out so awesomely. You are people that I love knowing.

Speaker 2:

I do, I do, I totally enjoy my daughters.

Speaker 1:

And they've raised my kids. Almost all of my grandchildren are raised and they are extraordinary. They're extraordinary human beings, and so that is like. I love hindsight. I love to be able to look back and see.

Speaker 2:

It's a lifesaver.

Speaker 1:

They've promised that my generations, when they are old, they'll seek him.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they take up their time right. This is my prayer for where I live. I said, for all the hell I'd have it. My children have break down the community. I claim that they will be cannons for the kingdom of God before this is over. And I'm seeing that start to happen and I love it. Oh, Mother's Day was wonderful because I had so many of them with me.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's great. So did y'all go there to go back.

Speaker 2:

Well, we all live close, but we like to. At certain times we all go together and rent a place on the beach or down, and so we all gather there and have games and cook out and stuff like that.

Speaker 1:

That's great. I probably need to get some recommendations from you because it's gotten to where we're such a huge group Getting bigger and bigger, but it's also been seasons of high school stuff. Oh, I know. And the kids are just so busy that there's just no time for that yeah exactly Like there's a graduation party.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's this on Monday and there's a May.

Speaker 1:

But the older ones are getting to a stage where I think they'd enjoy it. And now so many are about to graduate. We have two graduating this year, two graduating next year, two more that are just right on their heels, and then they'll all be, except for the very youngest that I'm picking up in a minute. They're all grown-ups, they're almost grown-ups.

Speaker 2:

They're grown-ups making their way, it's true, and those are great children. Those last ones, one's a great and one's a grand grand, and they were both born in september, and so we got little tinies. Uh, still going on, I have a I have a great, my first great.

Speaker 1:

You're months old. Well, that's that, girls, this is apple cider vinegar. I've been trying to tell people yes, you put apple cider vinegar on your hair. It may not work after it's already all turned gray, but you don't know. Um, mine was starting to turn like get gray all over it when I was 30 and I read an article about the reason why the premature grain comes because your follicles have well. It could be that too, but my follicles have well. It could be that too, but my follicles have bacteria in them from all the products, hair products and what's in there.

Speaker 1:

And so I started washing my hair with apple cider vinegar once a month. I left it on and all of a sudden the gray went away, and I still have about the same amount of gray that I had when I was 10.

Speaker 2:

I don't mind it oh.

Speaker 1:

I don't mind it.

Speaker 2:

Two of my daughters are stylists and have done New York runway. They're like they really are.

Speaker 1:

They really have done.

Speaker 2:

New York runway. I go like this I'm going girls, your mama is your advertisement. Do something with this I'm out there walking and they know I'm your mother and you better take care of your mother.

Speaker 1:

Well, it's beautiful and it's very thick. That's what mine is too. I've got a lot of hair and it's apple-type vinegar. I'm just telling you it makes it healthier.

Speaker 2:

Like, everybody should do it just to keep their scalp healthy. I'm going to have to talk about that. What's? Where are y'all, yeah, sandbagging on me? What's?

Speaker 1:

going on. Well, I don't even think they do it, but my hairdresser's like how is your hair doing this?

Speaker 2:

They are. We got off.

Speaker 1:

Robert takes one daughter and I take the other joined our conversation today to hear about this woman that's traveling the country, and you may see her in a white cargo van traveling one of these days the highways and byways and, if you get the chance, stop along the way and just be part of her, her prophetic gift, because it's really we do it.

Speaker 2:

We have the site. We were talking a web page's. It called yeah, let's Facebook page. If you'll give that to me in a text afterwards, I'll make sure that they post it at the bottom so that everybody can see it, because if I am getting close, if it's posted and I want direction we're going, then I would, I'd hang up with you and you could hang on and y'all could say y'all both know me.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so yesterday we were talking about something and I just thought it was like an amazing conversation.

Speaker 2:

Oh, it's when you went. Oh, I wanted to interview. Yes, it was about the sword and going and picking my old wounds.

Speaker 1:

Oh, okay, okay. So we've talked on the show before about stony parts of our heart, and you know I worry about that for us. I want us to get rid of those stony areas in our heart, and where they get there is when somebody hurts us, and then really this happens in your body too. Calcification happens where an injury occurred and that calcification keeps blood from flowing. It keeps your nerves from working good, and the same thing keeps blood from flowing. It keeps your nerves from working good, and the same thing God tells us happens in our heart. We hold on to an offense, somebody hurt us, we don't let it go, we feel like we're entitled to it, but all we're doing is hurting ourselves and over time it gets stony. God needs to replace that stony piece of our hearts with flesh.

Speaker 2:

And you were talking to me about this beautiful picture and I would like you to share. What happened was I was driving up to Kansas and I said Holy Spirit, let's have a talk and you pick the subject. And you know, when I said I hear the Lord in your spirit, you hear what he's saying, and what I heard was we're going to revisit old wounds, and I rebuked it. Know what? When I said I hear the lord, that in your spirit, you hear what he's saying, and and what I heard was we're going to revisit old wounds, and I rebuked it, I said oh no, we're not that is not god and we are not going there.

Speaker 2:

But we did and, um, what it was was there were places in my heart that had never really healed. I covered it over and I'd been going on but it still wasn't healed. But what he did was he took the sword and the spirit and he took the point of it and he would point it right at my heart and it had a covering on it. The wound was deep, it had a covering on it, but he would and open the covering and then I could see that it was really super infected. It was just really ugly. And he told me to picture beautiful, crystal clear water like you'd see in the islands. You know that beautiful stuff, that it's real clear. Picture that bubbling up and flushing all of that stuff out. And then he said tell me when you're finished. So I said okay, so I'm picturing it while I'm driving along. I picture crystal clear water. And I said, oh, yeah, it's flowing over the top now. And he said okay, and he sealed it off. And then he took the next one and I'm going okay, and we went through these things that I had covered over, but they had never really been healed. But then it came to this other one and I went oh no, oh no, don't go there. That one, oh, not that one, lord, not that one, it's the worst of the worst.

Speaker 2:

And he went there and he opened it up and when I looked in it was I won't even mention, it was so horribly fouled up and filthy and all infested and stuff I never. I just couldn't look at it, couldn't look at it and it just remained that way. So I said how are you ever going to get all of that out? It looks like impossible. And how could you be sure you could get every bit of it? And I said it'd take a pointy trowel to dig in there. And I said what are you going to use? And he said a pointy trowel.

Speaker 2:

And he started digging in my heart in that place. But he was putting it in a golden flower pot and I went what are you doing? Get rid of it. And I said what are you doing? And he kept putting it in and he said this is the soil from which others will grow. And it was like, oh, like, shut the back door, so nothing's wasted, everything was working for good. And he did that and when he got it all out and it went in that golden pot. This one didn't get flushed out. This one got it so clean. Gemstones cut, gemstones started falling and going into that wound and just filled it up All these beautiful gemstones. I'm laughing on it now and I could still look at it because he never closed it off. It's just full of gemstones and it was a beautiful thing. This happened years ago. I'll never forget it. That's awesome, and so that's where he left it.

Speaker 1:

So there are so many things, so many things in life. You know that he, our father, does speak. He speaks to all of us we. If you listen, you'll hear him. He's a still quiet voice in your own heart, but you recognize him if you'll listen and you need to trust in that. You need to trust him because there's so many miracles that I could tell you and share, and maybe one of these days we'll do in a conversation, uh, about listening to him and being able to do things beyond anything I could have imagined. He talks in so many different ways. Yes, he does.

Speaker 2:

And it can be in nature, it can be in a way. Oh yeah, he does, he shows you he delights in it.

Speaker 1:

Yes, he delights in it. He wants to have a relationship with you and he wants to heal you. But he is very tender with us. He writes for us to say okay. He asks, he's not rude, he's just he asks and he says, okay, are you ready? She asked. She said, holy spirit, what are you talking about today?

Speaker 1:

and then he came in and and when she, when she said wait, then he waited until she was ready, and so you don't have to be afraid. I've just heard so many people along the way. Well, if I were to tell God to do whatever he needs to do in my life, it would be terrible, and I just want to say it's not. He loves us so much we're in the terrible place until we get our heart healed.

Speaker 2:

We have to trust it and I struggle with it all the time, actually in one degree or another, but you love me that much.

Speaker 1:

You know like that he does.

Speaker 2:

And he loves you, not just us, he's not a respecter of persons.

Speaker 2:

He loves his daughters. I became a Christian. I was alcoholic two packs a day and we're going to paint this room and all of a sudden my brother shows up and he's been to this Bible study and I'm going. He's in a suit and I hadn't seen him. I'm like what are you doing? And I don't know. It was God, because he knows the timing, when to deal with this. And he said you and Robert need to come. It is amazing. And when he said that, it's like God took a switch and just went in my head and the next morning I couldn't get my hands on a Bible quick enough and I was looking. I know I have one. My grandma gave me one and ever since then I was 25 years old and I'm about to be 78. And I have been rabid love the Bible in the Bible. And in the beginning I was in the Bible, pulled it in front of the fireplace, brand new, and I've got my wines there and my cigarettes over here.

Speaker 1:

I'm not going to ask you to talk about it. Yeah, he doesn't wait for us. He loves us.

Speaker 2:

He said we'll get there, we'll get there, so we're coming to the end here. Is this all right, or are you all still with us?

Speaker 1:

And I always ask do you have a piece of advice, one small piece of advice that you would give to younger women in any area, that you'd like to share with our audience today?

Speaker 2:

I went blank. That's okay. Let me think. There's so many things, just pick the first one that comes to your heart. If I could go back and do now.

Speaker 2:

If you could just encourage them in their walk, really that he does not give up on you and he loves you through every single thing you've ever been through. He wasn't there off there, he was actually here, but he takes everything along the way, even the worst, and if we grab onto him, those things begin to form within us a character that can only and it's uniquely you and it's uniquely you, it's uniquely me but looking back now and seeing, wow, he was there all the time. Yes, and he knows, he knows and he sees us, he knows us, he didn't ever not, and that he did not say we would never go through things, but I this is my love. The scripture says for the joy held out before Jesus, he endured the cross, he looked past this, that he was going to go through this and pass everything, and he saw on the other side wait till they see that, wait till this, wait till that you know. And he went through that knowing that there's a whole other thing. We're in a classroom, we're in college, some are getting their PhD, we are being trained.

Speaker 2:

If everything had always gone perfect, why would we need Jesus? That's right, and here we are, and so we can thank him and praise him for it. Thank you, lord. Yes, and I'll tell you this One little thing. One little thing, because you got it wrapped up there. You got me wound up Forgive-ness, yes, do not, do not hold a grudge. And I did go something slander and all that kind of stuff and it ripped me up good, I went from a size 10 to a zero. It hurt me so bad but in there and I begged. God, please let me go and talk. They're listening to a lot. Please let me go.

Speaker 2:

And he would say one day he said I was a lamb, led to slaughter and I opened up my mouth. He was teaching me how to handle injustice. We have to learn how to handle that stuff. And he says pray for the enemy, pray for those that despitefully use you, because when you pray for them you think I don't want to pray for them.

Speaker 2:

I want to bless them. Bless your enemy. I don't want to do that. It actually will change them and it changes us first. It changes us. It grounds us and we us. It grounds us and we start feeling better about ourselves. But there comes a time when you keep doing that, you say Laura, bless them. Today, I bless them, I bless their family, I bless everybody. I call forth the destinies that you've meant for them to have, that they don't miss it, they move into it, and I'll just let it run on and I'll feel like, yes, and then it got where. Wow, I really mean it. And then it was well, I would love to sit down with Starbucks and catch up on what I want and you do and it's good. Forgiveness is huge.

Speaker 1:

So, sharon, thanks for coming and spending some time with me. She was on the road and I grabbed her in. I'm glad you guys joined us today. I hope you'll consider sharing our podcast and coming to Ease Greenhouse and becoming part of our community. We're at the very beginning. We're planting seeds right now for growth in our lives and your lives and the generations that follow us, and I believe that God wants you to be part of it. So, esgreenhousecom, go join and then come back and listen to our podcast every Tuesday. Thank you for today.

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