Hope

Can I share a really personal story? Last summer, I learned the devastating news that my sweet cousin lost her four year old son to a drowning accident. I didn’t even know him personally, but as a mother, my heart just broke in half. I not only know her family, but also her in-laws really well and my heart was heavy for days imagining each of the ripples of their grief. Life can be so painful. Of course nothing will fill their void, but I wanted so badly to offer something and paint is my language. Some family members helped me find good pictures of him and there was one with him sitting on a tractor at a family farm, looking so happy. I wanted to capture him this way. I painted the whole scene and something kept bothering me. The reference photo had the tractor in a building of some sort, surrounded by equipment and that’s how I painted it at first. But it felt empty and dark. I believe so much in including my Creator with me as I create, so I prayed for help. A quiet thought came to my mind to paint a tree. So I put some green out the window and the painting changed. I felt impressed to take him out of the dark barn and fill the background with trees, with green, with LIFE and as I did, I felt so clearly and strongly that this sweet boy Wyatt was still alive. His body might have expired, but his soul, his spirit, his personality—all the things that make him himself— were still very much alive. And just like trees go through empty winters and come back to life in the spring, I felt such a deep hope and understanding that someday Wyatt’s soul and body will be joined together again and resurrected in a perfect, complete way that will never be separated again because of Jesus Christ. It was an incredibly spiritual experience for me to paint this painting and be taught deep truths through symbols like paint and trees. I still ache so deeply for my cousin and everyone who will miss this sweet little light on the earth. The pain is so real. But I’m also filled with peace that our loved ones are still very much ALIVE and that we will see them again. What was lost will be found. What was broken will be healed. Where there is pain we can feel hope. Happy Easter. 🌱