The Victory Part 2: The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd, 2023

Acrylic on watercolor paper

17” x 22”

In my last post I promised to tell you all what happened next at the concert and how the painting Victory in Jesus came to be. But in order to tell you what happened next, I have to take you back in time. I need to take you back with me to almost a week prior and tell you the story of another painting - the painting that I chose not to do.

For those of you wondering right now, “concert? What concert? I thought this was an art blog, why is she talking about a concert?” I recently did a collaborative creative arts concert with the amazingly skilled pianist Dorene Dundas. This event was a huge milestone for both of us and God moved in incredible ways! To get the full scope of what God did and hear the first installment of the story, please see my previous post The Victory Part 1: Authorized personnel ONLY.  

Okay now that that’s cleared up, let’s get back to the story.

In the days leading up to the concert I had set aside time to take walks with the Lord. It is a very real fact that you don’t just find time for what’s important to you, you MAKE IT! This wise sentiment was shared with me by one of my beloved Bible study buddies early on in my walk with God. And it has stuck with me ever since. For five days I made a point to carve out time in my crazy schedule to walk with the Lord in the woods. Each morning I loaded up my backpack with the necessities - my trusty pink water bottle, a snack, a jacket, and of course, my Bible. There was no time limit on these excursions and the only goal was to spend quiet time with the Lord so I could hear Him speak. 

My hand-carved walking stick clicked on the asphalt as I marched down the street to the trailhead that awaited me near the end of our cul-de-sac. Tick… tick… tick… my steps always started leisurely but grew faster and faster the closer I got to the entrance of the trail. Excitement filled me and I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in the beautiful solitude of the forest, a place where I could be free from distractions and hear His still small voice. What wonderful revelation would God have for me today? I wondered. Tickticktick! the clicks grew faster and became like a Morse code that let everyone in the neighborhood know - there she goes, Angela’s at it again. 

For five days I did this and for five days He poured out revelation and encouragement to me. He spoke to me in my spirit through prayer. He illustrated His thoughts for me with His art - the landscape. And He spoke to me through Scripture.

On the very first day, He led me to my favorite sitting rock and to the book of Psalms.  My “sitting rock,” as I call it, is a large glacial boulder just off the trail which overlooks a ravine of dense forest. I often come here to sit and pray and just generally enjoy the quiet. Hence why I refer to it as my sitting rock. I flung my backpack and my walking stick down to rest in a pile of brush next to the boulder and popped myself down. I crunched on a couple of almonds as I unpacked my supplies, spreading them out in an orderly fashion and making myself right at home. I had no idea how long I was going to be spending on that rock but, one thing was for sure, I was going to be comfy and have everything I needed right at arm’s reach for the duration. Once I was satisfied and settled, I prayed. I closed my eyes and pressed my Bible close to my chest, hugging it tight as I poured my heart out to the Lord. A gentle breeze passed through the woods and I could hear it moving softly through the pine trees. I felt the warmth of the sunshine breaking through the dense foliage as the branches moved and I felt the Lord’s face smiling down upon me. When I opened my eyes a wonderful surprise awaited me - the long pine needles that I had heard rustling in the wind were sparkling in the sunlight. It was as if the trees above me were adorned with golden tinsel. I was mesmerized by the sight and watched as the wind transformed each little black-green spire into a shimmering golden filament. This place was special. This moment was special. I opened my Bible and my eyes came to rest on the opening line of Psalm 23.  

In most translations of Psalm 23 the first line reads, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” In my Bible (a Christian Standard Translation) the passage begins, “The Lord is my shepherd, I have what I need.” I HAVE WHAT I NEED. God has already blessed me with what I need. I already have everything I need. “But I need to go buy better paint, more supplies… perhaps a more professional ground like masonite instead of paper,” I thought to the Lord. “No, Angela, you have what you need.” “But I need to repair my easel or get a different one form storage. My normal easel is almost 30 years old and everyone will laugh at how ghetto it looks, Lord.” “No, Angela, you have what you need.” “But I need to practice, Lord. You know, really buckle-down and make sure my skills are at their best… and I definitely need to practice with shoes, Lord! I paint barefoot! I can’t paint barefoot on stage everyone will think I’m a crazy person!” “No, Angela, you have what you have what you need. You have been practicing for your entire life. Go with what you know and do it exactly the way you always do.” The idea that I was already fully equipped with everything I needed for the concert was ultimately comforting, though I wrestled with it at first (in case you couldn’t tell from our conversation). I am so grateful that God is patient with me.

Each day He highlighted new words and phrases from Psalm 23, unfolding tremendously profound revelation sometimes all contained in a single word! One of my favorite Bible study authors, Kelly Minter, once wrote, “If Bible study is mining for gold, Scripture meditation is admiring and reflecting on the gold’s beauty.” Never had this been more true for me. Over the course of that week, the Lord spoke to me about a great many things. He assured me that I had all I needed. He literally led me to rest in green pastures where I napped in the sun. He refreshed my spirit as He told me about the quiet waters. And He comforted me with the reminder that He is a good shepherd and I am His lamb. The image of a cute little lamb playfully (and sometimes clumsily) hopping all over the place came to my mind. “This is you,” He said. “You flip, and hop, and sometimes twist yourself into awkward contortions.” He then explained to me that just like a human shepherd, He would let me hop around (because that’s what young lambs do) but He would never let me harm myself. “You might zig-zag around as you play but I will always keep you moving in the right direction. I will never let you sproink off a cliff. I will tap you gently with the staff of my Holy Spirit and let you know if you are heading in a direction that is harmful to you.”  

Two days before the concert, I attempted to articulate all the things that God had shared with me in acrylic paint (the medium that I had predetermined that I would use at the concert). There were just so many wonderful ideas and feelings that I wanted to share - the serenity of the still waters, the comfort of knowing that the Good Shepard (AKA Jesus) watches over me and keeps me from harm, and the overall feeling of peace and contentment, knowing that I have all I need. Visual art is my preferred method of communication and, while trying to explain all these concepts with my  words felt like a daunting task, sharing them with my art was an exciting prospect. I hauled my easel out to take a crack at it and what do you know - It was a success! The painting, which I would later title: The Good Shepherd, was stunning! It flowed perfectly with Dorene’s music, each brushstroke falling exactly in sync with every note, right down to the grand finale… and it all came together in one hour! I couldn’t believe it. “This must be it,” I thought to myself, “this is THE ONE!” The following day, I set out to see if I could recreate the painting (to the same music, on the same time frame). And once again, it worked!

I went to sleep the night of September 20th confident. I had all I needed. I would paint the Good Shepherd. I felt very satisfied with my practice and the notion of sharing all the wonderful revelations God had imparted on our walks. Little did I know that God had shown me all these things to prepare me for what would happen next… this painting was just the beginning.