Letting go...

I've been listening to a lot of sermons on forgiveness and the healing it can bring to a person.  To forgive as God forgave... 

I want to, but HOW.

I've been praying on it and meditating on it.  I watched a few good messages on it, from Pastor Craig Groeschel and Joyce Meyer, and even a few Ted Talks.

I really enjoyed Pastor Craig's honest story in the message above.  At first, begrudgingly, he asks God to "do something" for this person who he needed to forgive.  Then, his prayer grew more earnest and true over time, and eventually, he was able to forgive this person with a letter, and his forgiveness touched this other person and led him to a relationship with God.

This drawing was to show me that letting go of the past hurts would lead me to a closer relationship with God and peace.

I discovered today that my sketch book had been mistreated.  It ended up under the seat of my car, and some pages were torn or dirty.  I was so upset, because the pages that were ruined were the past few drawings I had done in the front of the book.

The dove drawing, which was about half done, had a small tear and some wrinkles, but no dirt.  I almost tore it out and tossed it, but I was called to finish it instead.  While I am still a little upset about the drawings that got ruined, I had to remind myself that I had already photographed them and told their story here on this blog... That now they are "just paper".  The rest of the notebook, all of the white pages, remain clean and undamaged, waiting for me to draw more.

I finished the dove, and sent it to two of my friends.

The reaction was perfect.  The drawing meant different things to each of them, but they both "needed" to hear the message of the drawing tonight.

Which is why I will keep drawing; there are messages coming out of my pencils that speak to people that need to hear something.

I was asked if I made any resolutions this year. Yes, I did.  First, is to finally read the bible, all of it, in context, not just verses here and there, and to keep praying and drawing... a lot.