I never thought i’d be able to paint it…

Now there is a woman I’ve never met, standing on the front porch with tears streaming down her face. Do I offer a hug? Or maybe a hand on her shoulder? I’m a little shocked and uncertain. So I just stand there until she’s ready to speak.

“You don’t understand”, she says. “I’ve lost everything.”

She was right, I didn’t understand. I had no idea that the painting I just handed her would speak hope directly into the deepest places of pain she was experiencing. I knew nothing about her. Only that several weeks prior I saw her singing on stage. She seemed confident then. Relaxed. Like everything in her world was going according to plan. So I was a little surprised when I heard that quiet, sweet, familiar voice of God speak so gently that I was to give her this painting I was working on.

Growing up going to my grandmother’s art shows and gallery exhibitions, I was always intimidated by her success and ability to convey, with perfect detail, any subject matter that inspired her. There were countless paintings of iris flowers in her living room when I was a small boy. I remember studying them. How intricatly the light filtered through the folds and layers of the petals. How much depth of color and subtlety was used to convey their texture and volume. I told myself I would never be able to paint like that. I’d never be able to paint an iris flower. So of course, when I started to take myself seriously as a painter in my mid 20’s, I kept seeing pictures in my mind of the iris flowers that I was in awe of as a child.

I found a particular varitety of iris I wanted to paint. Deep, royal, velvety purple at the base with bright yellow and orange fire at the top. It radiated M A J E S T Y. And it just so happened that when I was about half way through with the painting, I saw this woman singing and I knew it was meant for her. I heard it spoken to me, clear as day.

Over the course of the next few weeks of painting, I began to hear more and more about what this image was about. Majesty, yes, and radiance. But also provision. An abundance of provision. Storehouses filled to the brim being opened up and emptied out. Restoration, healing, reconnection, remaking and rebuilding what had been broken. But not just making it again. Making it better, stronger, more vibrant and brilliant. I wrote all of this on the back of the wood frame, put the final touches on the painting and then went to work finding out how to get into contact with this woman I did not know and had never met.

Now, she’s here standing in front of me. And looking a little confused. I show her the painting and she seems to like it. I begin to read what I wrote on the back. That’s when the tears start to flow.

I didn’t know that when I was spending time with my family, hers was falling apart. Husband gone. Kids, taken away.

I didn’t know that when I was filing out deposit slips at the bank, she was filing out forms to declare bankruptcy. All of it. Lost.

I didn’t know that when I saw her singing on stage, she was doing everything in her power to keep her composure and get the words out.

On the front porch her story tumbled out through tears and lay there on the pavement between us. There had been enough hopeless, sleepless nights. It was time to move forward. It was time to rebuild. She collected herself, wiped her tears, and smiled at me.

“I’m going to take this painting, hang it in the hall right by my front door, and every time I feel hopeless I’m going to look at it and remember that my story isn’t over. I’m going to remember what God says about me and what he says is possible for my future.”

And that’s exactly what she did. She regained custody of her children. She rebuilt her business. She rebuilt her life. More brilliant than before.

I’ve thought about her many times over the years and wondered how she is doing. Does she still have the painting? What does her life look like today? I wonder if I ever told her how terrified I was to paint an iris flower and how many times I wanted to give up in the process. I love how God uses art to pave the way for truth, power and redemption. Not only for those who receive the artwork, but also for those of us who create it.