Gifts

Suzanne is my gift.  She presented me with the best gift that I have ever received at my Master's graduation.  She had this painting done by an artist in Nashville, Laura.  I have to say that when I saw it, I was overwhelmed with emotion.  Suzanne had given Laura some idea of what she wanted and Laura put her creative brush to the canvas.

My life was spent on the wide road and thank God I ended up on the narrow road. Laura explains the painting and my life this way . . .

I played with the concept of the wide and the narrow road and how they aren't necessarily different roads...but one in the same. We become more and more refined, and on the narrow road we begin to grow and have life. Thus...the tree. It's new life.  It's life abundant. It's life to the full.

Though we have a beautiful life, we have roots that go down into our old life and even wrap around on the wide road.  These roots are what bring us wisdom, though.  At the very bottom it gets scaly...because that's the death to self part.  We have had to die to self on the wide road and the further we travel down the narrow road the more we grow. 

The  red could be symbolic of grace and the blood of Jesus. It goes into our roots to heal us and grow us...and it manifests itself as grace in our leaves that we show to the world and share as our fruit.

Suzanne added Romans 8:28-30:

 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

and then she concluded with:

 As Romans 8:28-30 shows, even though Christ saved you from the wide road, you were always going to end on the narrow one.  And when you were plainly in the mire of the first one, look at the blood of Jesus that had trailed all the way to where you were stuck. His grace was there, just waiting.  This painting represents your personal road. It started out wide and became narrow.  It's an interpretation of your walk.

Even now, a year and a half later, I still get choked up when I look at this painting hanging in my office.  I am so thankful for the grace of Christ and the grace of my human picture of Christ, Suzanne, for she offered me the same grace as Christ. I love them.