Our
granddaughter recently decided she wanted a large painting—of the Grand Canyon. Having never been
there I was in a dilemma as to where I would get a reference photo. For many
reasons, I avoid using random images I don't own, but almost always paint from pictures I’ve
taken myself. But then I remembered my dad took photos when he traveled to
the Grand Canyon. Sure enough, I found several he’d made for her to choose
from. He would love that I used one of His for this painting.
I’ve only done a couple of paintings this large before—48 inches by 60 inches, but I trusted the problems presented by these dimensions would somehow work out. First, I began with the underpainting, then blocking out shapes, and then the finer details which take quite a while. All the time, I’m staring into this vast expanse of God’s creation unfolding before me.
After a couple of weeks as I was finishing, God began the stirring in the land that I wrote about last week. And in reading about what has been happening, much has had to do with the love of God—the overwhelming love of God. And that painting I’d just finished kept coming to mind because that huge expanse is a visual reminder of the magnitude of God’s affection for us.
The apostle Paul in a letter to the Ephesians wrote, “And I pray that
you, being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the
Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of
Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled
to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
God has a Grand Canyon of love for us. And that’s just the beginning. Paul prays we could grasp that truth. Perhaps in part this
recent awakening is about knowing in fuller measure the reality of
God’s love for us and that this would be especially so for younger generations who
have faced so many difficulties these past few years. But anyone of any
age could always grasp in a bigger way the love of God.
So, I think the timing of painting this picture is perfect. I have this very clear mental image of that canyon as an image of God’s great love and I hope our sweet girl gets that, too. I’ll be putting a few scriptures on the back. She hasn’t seen it yet, so the picture above is not the reference photo, but another one of my dad’s shots. I’ll share soon, meanwhile check out some of the videos and writings emerging from this awakening. Our hearts are expectant, and we ask you to join us in prayer that God would do what only He can do. Blessings, friends.