I mentioned in my March 6th blog the way I paint looks differently now.

I used to paint lots of pet portraits, still life and landscapes. And I still love those subjects and love to paint them, but God has been showing me a different way of painting. I’m not entirely sure how to describe what I see that He’s showing me, but it’s abstract pictures I see in my mind whenever I’m reading scripture or listening to worship music. I shared a little bit about it with my Isaiah 41:13 painting. The Lord has also shown me something when reading the 23rd Psalm — particularly verse four.

This May 16th will be three years since Jim went to be with the Lord. As that date approaches, I have noticed I’m feeing “heavier” for lack of a better description. I started feeling that way back in April — almost a month before the actual anniversary of Jim’s death. I think part of that feeling is the memories from this time three years ago of how horrible Jim’s cancer was — especially during his last days. It was heartbreakingly brutal on him, and devastating for our family to watch. We absolutely walked through the valley of the shadow of death with Jim.

It wasn’t until a few months ago that the Lord began showing me the “valley of the shadow of death” in my mind. Through worship songs and studying His word, I pictured that valley — where hope is lost, dreams are shattered, futures are spoiled. It’s broken and shattered. But you know what? We don’t stay in that valley of death and destruction according to Psalm 23:4. David states in this verse what he knows to be true of the Lord — “even though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for YOU ARE WITH ME.” Two hopeful promises — we walk THROUGH, which means we don’t live there, and the Lord is WITH us as we go through it.

This brings SO MUCH HOPE. We are not alone even in the very worst times of our lives. In all the heartache I went through, the Lord was walking with me through it all. He is with me, was always with me, will always be with me.

So — the painting. In my mind I saw the valley of the shadow of death — broken, chaotic, dark. But on both sides of this valley there is light because it wasn’t always death and it won’t always be death. The line through the valley from light into the valley back into light is the path — where I walked before, during and after. The metallic gold represents the Holy Spirit who was always with me — even in the worst moment of my life.

The painting depicts hope even in the midst of despair. I hope and pray that you grow deeply in your relationship with the Lord who will never leave you or forsake you — who will always hold your right hand and walk with you THROUGH the darkest valley.

All glory to the Lord who loves me forever and ever.

COVID-19.

As I search for a sentence to follow that, I’m blank. What do I say?

Everyone is talking about it or trying to forget about it. It’s all over social media. At times, I find myself wanting to practice social distance from everything vying for my attention on all media outlets, especially now. BUT, I have noticed a ribbon of hope in some messages out there. it’s this:

“I pray that God, the source of HOPE, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident HOPE through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Last summer when I was considering my next painting series, God put this verse on my heart. It’s actually a verse my husband Jim prayed for me and our boys. I wanted to pray this verse and paint a dove as a representation of the Holy Spirit. I knew I was taking a risk with something that was more overtly Christian than the hearts I painted last year; however, I felt like God placed that verse on my heart.

So I wrote that verse on every dove painting before I painted it and prayed that verse for the people who would receive it — all 75 of them.

When you write something and pray something that many times, you begin to internalize it. And I did. I began writing it from memory, pretty early on. I wrote it and prayed it in a cadence like this:

I pray that God,

the source of HOPE,

will fill you completely with

JOY and PEACE

because you trust in HIM.

THEN you will overflow with

CONFIDENT HOPE

through the power of the

HOLY SPIRIT.

I underlined “because you trust in HIM” and I circled “THEN.” I wanted to really study this verse to see our part — trusting Him — and what happened as a result of our trusting — overflowing with confident hope.

My prayer is that you will memorize and pray this verse, or another verse that God lays on your heart, during this time of social distancing and that you keep up that practice when things return to normal. Break it down, look at what it all means. Read it in context. Let God, through the Holy Spirit, speak to you through his Word. Don’t let any of this isolation or destruction be wasted on things that don’t matter but instead seek God and spend time with Him, growing in your relationship with Him, so that you may share the Good News of Christ to a world that so desperately needs it.

*** Please know, before I wrote this blog, I prayed for all of you who would read it. ***

Twenty-third Psalm Painting

True HOPE during COVID-19