Wives...

Some friends are getting married in September.  I wanted to draw a prayer for them as a gift.  I drew a bouquet, using three orchids to represent the Trinity, with a red rose in the center to represent the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3 kept coming to me, but I wasn't fully sure of it. I kept asking myself if I was letting my bad marriage influence my choice of verses for this artwork...

I also really wanted to hand ink the lettering since it had been literally decades since I had used my old calligraphy supplies.  I'm surprised that the inks weren't dried up, honestly!

In full transparency, I was very unhappy with the result of this artwork.  I am my own worst critic, and it wasn't speaking to me and felt wrong, but I couldn't tell exactly why.  I wrote to my good friend and told her how disappointed I was with the artwork, and how I actually was considering tossing it, and I hadn't tossed a piece yet.

Well, the reason it felt wrong was that it WAS wrong for the particular couple I had in mind!

My friend told me that SHE actually loved the artwork, and I realized it was better suited to her and her husband.  They had recently experienced a year-long long distance separation to try to figure out how to save their marriage.  She prayed faithfully for her husband and herself and invited the Holy Spirit into their lives to save their marriage, and they are reuniting THIS WEEK.  I am told that he is a fully changed man, who has accepted Jesus as Savior, given himself over to the Spirit, and comes back to her full of tender love.

I will fully admit that I was skeptical that there would be a change in him,  but GOD is so GOOD.  I was so thrilled to hear her good news and so utterly humbled to realize that despite praying all year for my dear friend, I did not *really* believe that God would change her husband. I am ashamed to admit that I thought he was beyond reach, but of course, no one is ever outside of His reach!

I pray that this artwork (which she plans to display in her home prominently) reminds them both to submit to each other and treat each other with love and kindness as they learn to love the new people God has made both of them into.