“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
-Psalm 23
This was a difficult design, not because of what was involved, but because of my state of mind. I am lost, and I am hurting, and I am brokenhearted. I was forced out of my church job at the end of October, job opportunities falling through, moving back to Indiana, living with my parents, constantly cleaning and packing as they are showing the house, randomly having my heart broken by someone I really cared about.
God FEELS distant, I FEEL forgotten. Scripture, TRUTH, will say otherwise. It is a conflict of my broken human feelings and the LORD’s divine, everlasting TRUTH. Emotions will come and go, my circumstances will eventually change. The TRUTH of Scripture will remain. Creating this design based on Psalm 23 was not easy. I have been wanting to make this for a while, but today of all days I had to make the idea a reality. Today is a day when all of my hurt and trouble are piling on. Today of all days I want to be angry with God, to give up on faith. Its a low point. Today is a day that I certainly do not what turn to scripture. I want to yell, I want to punch something (fun fact: I did pull out my punching bag, great way to work off all of those holiday snacks!). I lost cherished friendship on top of of everything else I am dealing with. I am hurt, I am angry.
This is exactly why the design had to be made today. I needed the reminder, through art and scripture, that the LORD of Hosts is still sovereign even in the midst of my hurt and pain and loss, even if I do not see it.
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