We must always have an imagination for the grace that will meet us. – Kara Tippetts
I’ve been living in a new town for about 10 months. I chose to rent out my house in Seattle, leave wonderfully caring friends who walked with me through chemo, fighting for life, and so much more. I drove away, with all my worldly goods (with the help of two of those friends) from a growing art ministry – in order to share life with my beautiful daughter, her husband and their three boys, my grandsons, and hang with another terrific, lovely daughter and her fiancé, for two years. I have stage 4 breast cancer, and I really wanted the time with my daughters and all the extended family. And, I wanted to be a help to them while I am strong.
Finding a friend here has not happened. You know, the sharing life, and I have your back kind of friend. (The kind of friend who loves you through your mistakes and cheers you on wildly during your good moments.) Art ministry for me has not happened, either. Interestingly, I’ve had no real connections for the work I do – helping women share their stories through art. So, one night in February, when I was lying in bed with two solid weeks of the why not just die and get it over with flu, I asked God for one, just one tiny connection, in my new church.
Painting at the concert.
Out of the blue, well, I suppose not in God’s mind, I received an email from someone in my church, asking me to join a team of creatives going to Romania. I can use art in sharing my faith. What? Who are these people? Within a couple of days, my face is on a poster describing the trip to Romania, and before you know it, I am painting during a Passion of Christ concert, in the front of the church, (where I have made zero friends) and I am selling my art cards and prints after the concert to raise funds for the Romania trip.
The piece from the concert. I’ll tweak it, and try to sell it to raise funds for the Romania trip.
Ready to sell art cards and prints after the concert.
As I am shaking hands with tons of folks who say they love my work, I am secretly marveling at what God created that night. I’d say He gets the credit for bringing folks from my new church directly in contact with me, my art, my passion for sharing Jesus all over the world, and for answering that tiny prayer during the flu for one little connection at my new church. AND, as usual, He made sure it wasn’t tiny. That night, He even had me meet a young woman who is a mehndi artist in Denver – ever since my time in India I love painting in the mehndi style to share God’s story. Meeting her was like the bow on top of God’s present to me.
Which brings me to the quote I started with above. “We must always have an imagination for the grace that will meet us.” – Kara Tippetts. Kara, a young mom of four, pastor’s wife, amazing joy-filled, kind person whose blog I have been so blessed to read each day, just passed into eternity from stage four breast cancer. Even in her leaving, she encouraged me, through her words, to have the imagination that God and His grace would meet me in my hard – as she would call it, lonely time here in Colorado Springs.
With God, the need He created in me for friends, for ministry, for passion for sharing Jesus, will be met by His grace. In the meantime, I’m learning how to be more sensitive to lonely people. His timing is for His glory, not mine. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Romania poster.
If you’d like to support the trip to Romania, You may donate here:ROMANIA
I’m sorry you haven’t made connections in CO yet. I once felt that way here. For some reason it takes a longer time to make connections here, but the connections, once made are deep. I think I can help you get connected. Send me an email.