This painting was my second oil painting, and I think that is when I totally fell in love with painting. At the time, I didn't really think about what this painting could mean from a spiritual perspective as I was working on it. Later the Lord did reveal to me so many things. As I grew in the Lord through the many trials that He had allowed and is still allowing me to go through; my eyes have been opened to how much He truly loves me. He will never leave me nor will He forsake me, and as I go through the difficulties, trials or sufferings that He has allowed, I know that He will deliver me from them in such a way that I could not even imagine.
As I look at the painting, the first thing that I see are the waves crashing against the three rocks, and it reminds me so much of what the Lord has allowed in my life...death of loved ones, financial struggles, the health challenges of my children, among other things. As I look at the storm clouds surround the whole picture, I can allow my vision to be clouded by all that I am going through and not be able to see what the Lord wants me to see.  I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father sees right through those clouds, and is able to see the whole picture. He knows the outcome! He knows the end result of the storm. Eventually, the storm may end, and we may feel that there was so much destruction surrounding it, that we can't find the beauty, the hidden treasure meant just for us. Maybe we need to look for the beauty even in a storm.
I love going to the ocean and yes, I even love to see the power of the waves crashing against the rocks. Have you ever taken a walk on the shore after a storm? You would be surprised to see so many hidden treasures there are on the shore, and even some beauty. It could be the broken shells, reminding us of our brokenness, suffering or other trials in our lives, but then we come across smooth stones reminding us that through of all this, our Heavenly Father is smoothing us out into the image of His Son. We have a choice to make...we can sit inside and hide from the storm hoping it will go away or we can embrace it, by watching and trusting the Creator, knowing that He sees the end result. I choose to embrace the storm and then, see what special treasures He has waiting for me to find at the end ... for He sees the Solitary View.

  "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14 
When my husband and I were married, our desire was to have six children. One thing I have learned, is that God's ways are not always our ways. I entitled this series of paintings "Our Miracle Masterpiece" as each of these girls are miracles that the Lord has allowed my husband and I to bring into this world to raise.
It took us five years to have our oldest, Angela (the first painting). We had, had a miscarriage a year after we were married and then were told we probably would not be able to have any children of our own. This devastated us, but we kept hoping that the Lord would intervene and allow us to have a child of our own. I was almost three months pregnant before I found out that our precious baby was on her way. What a joy to find out, but in the back of my mind I worried whether I would lose her through miscarriage also. The Lord allowed her to be born on March 27th during an ice storm. She did have to stay in the hospital longer than was expected as she was very jaundice. She is a miracle as we never thought we would be able to have her.
Our second little one, Joelle, was a miracle as we thought we would have to wait a long time for her as we did for Angela, but again the Lord intervened, and Joelle was brought into this world two years later on May 17th. She too had a rough start after birth as she had a reaction to the medication they had given me during labor. She didn't breathe at first and was very blue. Once again the Lord proved that He was the author and giver of life and brought her through it and what a joy to hear her cry. She, too, was a special miracle sent from the Lord.
Our fourth child and third painting, Samara, was a surprise as we thought the Lord had filled our small quiver. (I will explain our third child at the end.) What a blessed surprise to found out that she was coming into our lives. My pregnancy with her was not easy, as I was a lot older. There were also some complications. I had extra amniotic fluid and after several tests, we were not sure if our child would have special needs or not. The one thing I wanted to hear, was her crying as I never heard my third child's cry. When she was born on May 21st, she definitely made herself known by the loudest cry that I have ever heard. That cry brought much joy to my heart. She did have some complications at the beginning as she had a heart murmur. Her heart is fine now.  The Lord has blessed her with a contagious laugh and a tender heart for others. She too is our miracle from the Lord. 
Our third child, Gabriella Joy, was a miracle in another way...a way we didn't expect. Her painting is not here as she went home to be with the Lord on the day she was born, July 11th. Someday, I hope, with the Lord's help that I will be able to do a painting of her and tell her story more. You might be asking, "How can her death be a miracle?" I choose not to look at her death, but at her life not just in my womb but in Heaven. She never felt pain here on this earth, was never hurt by others' words, never disobeyed her parents and never turned her back on God. She is in the presence of her Savior. I choose to see the miracle in that, because of what Christ did on the cross for all our sins and then rose from the grave to conquer death, I will see my little girl again, someday. That is the Most Miraculous Miracle  of ALL!