a childhood dream
Several months ago I read a blog post written by a woman who had just received news that her house was going to be in a magazine. The post was full of excitement and humility and touched on the point that God is so cool that he knows our deepest dreams even better than we do.
Let me be totally honest with you … when I read it, I didn’t react as I wish I had.
I wish I would have thought, “Wow, that is so awesome for her!”. Instead that ugly, childish voice crept in and said, “What about me? What about my deepest dreams? Don’t you see me, God?”
I went to bed feeling discouraged and woke up completely convicted. How terribly selfish I am. I have plenty to be thankful for, plenty of ways that God has been gracious to me and plenty of opportunities to show for it. So I sent a congratulations note to the woman, repented of my ugly ways and went on with my day.
A few hours later, after maneuvering a cart that was easily double my weight through the slippery and crowded aisles of Costco, I was loading my car and got a call from Ryan.
ryan: “Did you check your email?”
me: “Um, no. I did get 12 billion rolls of toilet paper though”
r: “well there is one here you need to read”.
me: “okay, what does it say?”
r: “it is from a woman at DaySpring. It says they are interested in your artwork”.
I started to cry. There in the middle of the Costco parking lot with a phone to my ear and three kids eating $1.50 hotdogs, I stood there crying.
I was crying not so much because of this new opportunity {although it was a cool one}, but because it hit me …
Since I was a little girl, I wanted to be an artist. It wasn’t something I put a ton of effort in to – I didn’t take special art classes or get a degree in art, but it was always something I loved doing. My aunt owned a Hallmark store and my sisters and I would spend a portion of our Christmas break ‘working’ for her {which basically meant we would pass out balloons and eggnog fluffs to holiday shoppers}. I loved that Hallmark store. I loved looking at the gift wrap, the party supplies, the little trinkets and Christmas ornaments. But most of all, I loved looking at the greeting cards.
I would daydream about designing my own cards and what they would look like. I loved the playful styles of Mary Engelbreit, Susan Branch and Kathy Davis. I spent hours and hours looking, studying, collecting art from these designers in the form of greeting cards.
That afternoon in the parking lot, it came full circle. Somewhere between starting a ‘real’ job and starting a family, I had forgotten that dream of being an artist.
But in that moment, I realized I had become one.
A good enough one that a company like DaySpring {a division of Hallmark, go figure} would want to sell my artwork.
I was excited. I was humbled. I was so very thankful.
Thankful that even though I don’t always acknowledge or understand it, God does see me. He does know my dreams and heart desires. Sometimes even more than I do.
As proof of His faithfulness, I am pleased to announce that a few of my art prints are now available for purchase at DaySpring.
If you have been wanting a larger canvas of the bird, fruit, lamp or chair prints, you can now get them! They come either as framed prints {which are really nice}:
or as gallery-wrapped canvases {also great}:
They are even offering personalization if you want to add a family name to the print.
Click HERE to see more at www.DaySpring.com
Do you have a dream you’ve been hiding in your heart? Or maybe one that you have forgotten about? He sees it. He sees you. He has not forgotten you.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
This collection of scripture prints is special to me and I’m excited to unveil a few new ones as well as a new size … all coming tomorrow …
Corrine
I just had a Middle School lock-in last night where we discussed how great it is when people live their faith and aren’t afraid to give God the glory. We talked about how the world and the devil work quietly to mock or dismiss those who credit God for their blessings, and how we have to (credit: MercyMe) ‘live a life to be followed’. It warmed my heart that in my exhaustion (remember, lock-in), as I looked only to see more of your talent after admiring your chalkboard wall, that God sent me another example for our young people. I also love to see someone be an instrument of God. Too cool.
Angela
What a blessing to have read this! I’ve just graduated from college and will start teaching high school biology later this year. The other day, I was thinking that when I start teaching, I’ll barely have time to pursue my other passion which is music. I play the cello in a worship band at church and I’ve already built all my musical connections here. Now, I’m moving to a completely new city (Miami), where I know no one. These thoughts just started to invade my head and I was losing hope.
Just the other night I was praying, that there would be some way for me to have a musical outlet to show me that there still is hope for this passion of mine. The next day, a guy came to my house to give me a quote on window shades. He went into my room and noticed my cello. He told me that he’s a professional cellist, that he’s just doing this job to help out his dad. He then asked me if he could play, and boy did he play! I asked him if he gave lessons because I need to brush up. He told me that he’s very busy and probably won’t have time. I was a bit bummed, but I let it drop. When he was about to leave, he told me that he would call me to set up my first lesson. He said that he’s never seen someone so passionate about the cello and about learning. I was estatic!
God is just so amazing. He heard my prayer the night before, and how quickly he acted! Who would have known that the guy who came to give me an estimate was a professional cellist?! Him giving me the opportunity to take lessons, shows me that this is just the beginning. This is my hope for the future that God has planned for me–so perfect because I’ve been losing a lot of hope recently. God works in mysterious and often times hilarious ways. I’m just so thankful because I know I was born to praise him. “Let me live that I may praise you” Psalm 119:175 And it’s funny that you mentioned Psalm 34:7. I just read it this morning! God is amazing!
Bridget
I believe that what you are doing, everything you are creating, and the inspiration you are giving is more meaningful then anything else. You have given me a place to connect, an opportunity to imagine, and an idea that I can create my own of what I have. I have only been exposed to your blog for a full 24 hours and already I am re-decorating and getting inspired to make your wonderful burp clothes. Thank you for your story.