When I exit this world I would like to be known as a woman who “Lived Skillfully.” Most mornings I begin my day reading my Bible and time with the Lord. After more than forty-five plus years doing this, today I can say I am not the same person. But I also recognize I am still broken; we all are. This is where the Tree Of Life is so exciting.
Proverbs 3:18 states, “She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her. And happy are all who retain her.” This is a message of hope. Where the devil uses trials to defeat me, God uses them to perfect me. The harder the trial, the bigger the victory. I find during the difficult times, I discover where I need God’s help. God doesn’t want to condemn me, He wants to sanctify and perfect me. In other words He is in the restoration business.
When I finally painted all the leaves and branches, it just didn’t look right. How many times have you had perfectly good foliage scrubbed out of your life. It hurts. Sometimes I need to be drastic to get the effect I want out of an art piece. God does too. When the branches went back in, so did a lot of purple. But in the end it took on a more painterly look rather than my ultra realism pieces. I also like this version.
The exciting part of this project is the corrolation between those who choose God’s wisdom in their journey through life as a lifestyle are grabbing hold of the tree of life. Versus our first parents who grabbed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; that has not worked for any of us. But, living life skillfully by applying God’s Word daily is a great lesson to hang onto.
