The Painting...

When I knew that God wanted me to paint his creation as a part of this Bible study, I was more than intimidated, but I decided to talk about it. I knew if I didn't the enemy would try to rob me of what God wanted to do and there would be a good chance I would never even try. So I made the announcement and took a step of faith. I bought paint, brushes, canvasses, and an easel and for the next three weeks, I simply looked at them. I looked at them every time I walked by my kitchen table.   

     I am by nature, creative, but I had never drawn or painted anything in my life. I kept questioning whether God had really called me to this? But I also knew if he had, that he wouldn't leave me hanging. But I did not feel equipped, so I waited. For what I was not sure. 

     The day came when I decided it was time to open the paints and pick up the brush. I knew, because of they way God had always spoken to me through creation that creation was what he wanted me to paint.  So I sat down and opened the bible to Genesis. I would start with the first 2 days. Several hours later I laid it all back down. The longer I painted the more discouraged I got.  I had not suddenly become a painter.

     The name of the Bible study is, "The Glory Road," but nothing I had created in the last two hours brought my God any glory.

     A few days later my desktop computer was in crash mode so I had to go through all my photographs and copy them onto an external hard drive. As I did, God led me to a folder of photos I had taken over many years which I had titled, "The Glory of God." I didn't even remember creating the file, but there it was in front of me.   As I began to look at the pictures, God whispered, "Do you remember this? And remember this poppy? It bloomed right in front of you?" 
     I suddenly realized that God had put the details of all of this in motion long before I ever knew what He was doing.  In that moment  was full of emotion and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit beside me. "Paint these. These are places we met. Places you praised me."    

     Within a few hours I knew which pictures I wanted to recreate. There were still lots of things to workout, but the ideas were flowing.  God had now given me a clear picture and a plan, and I was full of excitement again. 

     Within a few days I had found a computer program that would transfer my digital photos into a black and white outline. They looked a bit like the pages you'd see in a coloring book. From there I found another program that took my black and white outlines and printed them onto a canvass. A few weeks later the rolled canvasses arrived by tube, and I had decided by then,  to use oil pastels rather than paint.  Each of these pictures has an story, and I'll share them in the bible study, but here is a sneak peek...
    May His glory shine...