02/06/2026
Be still (story behind the painting) final painting in comments.
Have you ever felt helpless but then found peace in the middle of the storm?
It was March of 2020 when my youngest son’s father was hospitalized with COVID. No family members were allowed in the hospital and things were looking very bleak. The updates that we were receiving did not sound good. He had been placed on a respirator in a coma and his organs were showings signs of failing. He had recorded a message for my son in case he didn’t come off the respirator. My son was only 11. I couldn’t imagine him losing his Dad at that age. I started searching God’s word for hope trying to be strong for my son. When I opened the Bible it was Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God:…” Those words spoke to me at my core. They were the springboard for this painting.
I had a nervous energy that needed an outlet. So, I grabbed a canvas and wrote those words in pencil as a way of holding on to comfort. Be still and know… Then, as I was painting the storm, I remembered that Jesus had said those words in a different way to the turbulent seas in Mark 4:39 “Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
As I painted on the canvas, I chose dark stormy brooding colors to match my mood. But as I allowed the colors to blend in and swirl around, I could imagine Christ saying “Be still and know”…it was as if the cross I painted in the middle of the storm represented Jesus speaking to calm the sea of doubt, fear and worry. The waves of grief and doubt on the left became people kneeling with arms stretched out to the cross. The right side of the cross revealed that the seas were calm and the world was at peace. There are birds in the air and spirits like shooting stars in the upper right night sky to honor those who hadn’t survived. Who knows why God allows some to be taken and others to go on. I didn’t know if he would survive but I understood that Jesus was with us in the storm, that he heard my troubled heart and I could rest in that.
Art has always helped me process emotions in a way that nothing else can do. I believe that I was created to be creative. During the act of putting paint down on canvas, God used that scripture and the act of painting to transform the worry, doubt and fear about the situation into a sense of calm and trust.
The great news is that God did heal his father miraculously! He pulled out his own ventilator multiple times and began to recover. So, if you are in the middle of a storm, please remember to reach out to Christ for peace.
The original painting was 10”x20” acrylic on canvas. It was donated to my local church to be auctioned to raise funds for those in need.
