oil on canvas
24" x 36"
October 2005

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, PEACE, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control.” — Galatians 5:22-23

This painting is about a feeling of rest even when everything around you seems to be spinning out of control. A calmness that comes from knowing that there is Someone in charge of the universe who has the big picture in mind.

I spent a very difficult summer touring with a music group while in college. All I could do was count the days until I could get off that tour bus and get back to school. There was one day from this summer that is still so vivid in my memory — the details are blurry, but the incredible sense of peace I felt is something I cannot forget.

I remember we were some huge city in Brazil when our sound equipment failed. We spent an entire day sitting on our coach bus, circling the downtown aimlessly while somebody worked on getting the sound stuff to a place that could repair it. I can just remember sitting there all day as we drove around, having no idea what was going on in this foreign country, but it not seeming to matter one little bit. It was the strangest feeling to not be anxious about how much longer until this was resolved and we could get off that stupid bus.

There have been countless other times in my life when more serious situations have made life seem almost unbearable. But there was never a time that God didn't answer my prayers for His peace by giving me the comfort I needed to make it through that day. The following verse has always been a tangible word picture to me as I‘ve many times pictured myself sitting under the soft fluffy feathers of God, knowing I‘m safe in His care (regardless if I am happy or not.)

”He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that files by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destorys at miday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” — Psalm 91:4–7