Healed, girl on beach, inspirational painting

"Healed"

20 x 24 inches

This inspirational painting is full of symbolism. 

I started this as just a wave. Made it up for fun, but It kept making me cry as many of my earliest memories are from when my family was stationed in Hawaii. My step father was in the Coast Guard. He abused me, even burnt me once with a hot iron. So I prayed about it and began to see the root of the lies: believing I was unwanted and unloved, a terrible person from the start. 

As I worked on it, The Lord gave me a new perspective and his words of truth from scriptures in the Holy Bible. Forgiving others, renouncing the lies, forgiving myself, and accepting the Father's love have helped me overcome years of battling with bouts of depression. 

Life was hard: a different step father, more abuse, foster homes, and then failed marriages. 

While praying, I saw Jesus and me playing on the beach, and decided to put a little girl in the painting. Then I added the shadow of a cross, and the face of Jesus. I made the rain blowing away.  I added an angel dancing in the clouds, and a dove coming down the wave near the girls head, to symbolize the Holy Spirit. 

Then I noticed the shallow wave encircling the girl actually resembled a heart, so I enhanced it to symbolize the love of God our Father, the Good Father, who makes life turn around for good in spite of everything that comes against us.

Christ- Mass

It was called a mass for Christ.  Yet we focus on all the rush and business of this time of year.  Me included.  Just breath.  Slow down.  It isn't going to all be perfect, it isn't going to make every one happy, and I am not able to make it all as I think it should be!  So take a step back, laugh at all the stress and expectations and set them aside.

If I don't send the cards out on time, oh well.  If I don't get a certain gift for a certain child, oh well.  We have the whole year to give and bless and love each other!!!!  Why do we wait for one day out the year?

There, now I feel better.  Enjoy the beauty of the season, pray a lot, and ask God to show us how we can do something to help those in need, all year.

Merry Christmas!

My dove

People often ask me why I put the symbol of a bird before my name on my paintings. It is actually a dove, which is symbolic for God's Holy Spirit. I believe that when we follow Christ Jesus the Holy Spirit comes into our lives to empower us to live in this harsh world.

My paintings are a testament to the Father's love and goodness, which far out weigh the hardships. It is by His hand that I am am able to accomplish anything at all. I tend to make bad choices, and head in the wrong direction over and over again. But He is gracious. (I just learned that that means he is prone do doing favors for us. He likes to help us and do good things for us.) Psalms 145.

The dove is my way of giving God credit for all he does in me and through me.