Art has never been my expertise, and most likely never will be, but it has found a place in my heart.
The last 6 or 7 months have been a roller coaster ride of emotions. I have been anxious, depressed, exhausted, restless, and feeling trapped in these awful cages. However, this past fall semester I found a form of escape.
Painting.
I'm not the most talented painter ever, but it relaxes me. It's a time where I have hakuna matata as some could say.
I plan to go more in depth about the past half-year in a later post. But here I just want to share a few of my pieces. There are more, but I have not yet taken pictures of them. I believe that they are shown in the order that I painted them.
I want to start this post off with a prayer request to all who may read this. Joe Ramseyer Sr. is a member of my church back home in St. Louis. He was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and doctors believe he only has a few days left.
My parents may know Mr. Ramseyer better than me, but I saw his heart for God through worship at church. I lift up in prayer: the Ramseyer family, the doctors involved, the church, and especially for Joe's strength to persist. God willing.
God has a plan for everyone in this life. I don't understand why this is happening. And, I can't say if God gave Mr. Ramseyer cancer, but maybe it hasn't been fought off yet because God has a plan. It may be a plan of healing or plan to bring him home to his Father.
This morning I was reading the story of Job. Job was a blameless and upright man who feared God, but Satan came and robbed him of his 10 children and all of his property through unfortunate circumstances. Job still feared and worshiped God, so Satan then cursed his health with sores from head to toe. This did not veer Job from his One True God.
The thing that I never knew about this story, was that God let Satan curse Job. My first thought was, "What the heck?? Why would you let the devil do such a thing to a God fearing man?" But God knew Job's heart. He knew that Job would persevere with his heart in the right place.
I am not finished with the book of Job yet, but I am inspired by him. It also gave me peace when thinking of Mr. Ramseyer.
Now I don't know God's plan and neither does anyone, so please don't assume this is the case for Mr. Ramseyer. However, I believe that everything happens for a reason. I like to believe that God will take people to be with Him who have accomplished their mission in this life. I like to think that was the case for Jenny O'Reilly. I'm not saying it is, but I can wrap my head around her passing better if I think about it as her purpose in God's eyes was accomplished. My mom made a good point:
"Jenny touched many lives with God's love and would have continued to do
that by God's grace if she were still with us. She is now in a better
place, but we need to be careful about stating that God causes people to
die when we live in this fallen, sinful world. Sometimes there are
just no answers for why people get sick or killed when it seems they had
so much more to do for the Lord here."
We don't know why things happen. It can be quite frustrating too, but we can be at peace that God is in control.
There is a song that I have listened to almost everyday for about a month now that I think will be encouraging for anyone. It speaks on the difficulties of trusting God's plan for us because we think we know better than Him. Please take a few minutes to listen to the lyrics and praise God that "There May Be Tears".
I have officially joined the blogging world. And honestly, I am not sure how this works, but I had a strange desire to begin this journey.
I hope to use this blog as a chance to share life with people in my life. It's difficult to keep in touch with everyone in my life. So here is my chance to keep people close who may be miles away.
My friend Jenny O'Reilly inspired me to start this. Jenny was a dear friend of mine for the past four years. I met her in my senior youth group at Concordia Kirkwood church. She lit up the room every Sunday night at TAG (Teens About God). Her bubbly personality affected everyone she encountered. She had an infectious smile because God was/is the love of her life. She lived her faith out to the fullest every day.
In 2011 she was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 31. She was not one to ask "why" (that was not the case for me). Her faith was so strong and inspiring to not only me, but to many many people during her battle with cancer. Every morning and every night she had a routine of reading two verses to keep her heart in the right place.
"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
- John 6:67-69
He must become greater; I must become less.
- John 3:30
I plan to tape these same verses to my mirror to start and end my days right. Like Jenny, I hope to live each day for Jesus Christ.
As of December 29, 2012 she has been with her Lord and Savior in paradise. Her death was not an end, but a beginning. She died the day before her birthday, which kind of shows God's sense of humor because she spent her birthday in the arms of her Father.
In this blog, I want to share my journey of hardship, happiness, and grace.
May Jenny's legacy live on through my life and all those who were close to her.
