The first drawing...

My first drawing was made for a dear friend who was going through a difficult season.  I wanted to draw a cross and place my friend at the foot of it in my mind, as my church friend had suggested.

I lightly sketched a rustic, simple cross with a mechanical pencil. I knew I wanted the fabric draped and then wrapped around the cross as if enveloping the friend I was praying for. After the light sketch was done, I realized that the mechanical pencil was not going to work well for shading. I went to the art supply store and asked about pencils or charcoal.  I was advised to get a set of pencils of assorted hardness. The clerk showed me that the softer leads drew a bit darker, while the harder leads drew a bit lighter. I purchased Staedtler set of 12 Mars Lumograph pencils, a skinny mechanical eraser (Factis BM2), a zipper pencil pouch, and a hand sharpener.

I then went and sat on a bench at the side of a lake. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining and there were birds singing. A family of ducks swam by and watched me for a few minutes.

And I drew.

And I shaded.

And then... it was done.

I was surprised at the result.  I stared at it in wonder, disbelieving that it had come from my hand.

I took a photo of it, and sent the photo via text message to my friend that I was praying for.  I joked that my cross sketch had turned into "a bit more than a sketch."

What my friend wrote back really stunned me, and was the first clue that God was at work here.  My friend said that the cross was exactly like the one at the church he goes to.  He sent me a photo of his church's cross.

I was immediately overwhelmed because it was true. His cross looked exactly like my drawing.  I got goosebumps and tears in my eyes, and thanked God for guiding my hand.

I then framed the finished photo and sent it to my friend to keep as a blessing.