Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree

“…Even in times of trouble we have a joyful confidence, knowing that our pressures will develop in us patient endurance. And patient endurance will refine our character, and proven character leads us back to hope. And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!”
Romans 5 :3-5

While struggling to record childhood experiences, I was driven to prayer, asking God if the things I recalled through fogged memory were real. That night as I slept, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Plant a Joshua Tree!”
Immediately, I researched “Joshua Tree” and discovered they are type of desert cactus. Whenever the “tree” faces trauma, it develops a new branch. The fullest most beautiful trees are those which have experienced the most difficulties!
This painting took many months of working and reworking. Then it sat several months “not yet feeling right.”
Out of the Joshua Tree flows the sound of praise (purple notes), the sound of hope (blue butterflies), and the sound of inexplicable peace (white dove). It is a sound that welcomes the Presence of Jesus into broken lives, bringing beauty, restoration and healing even to the very roots of one’s existence.