This is one of the first paintings I did about 5 years ago. It's a church in St. Simons Island in Georgia. What you don't see is the moskitoes that swarmed around us and the intense humidity and heat. I tried to convey some of that here along with the brightness of the sunlight and the enduring presence of churches in our world... Right now I'm in a reflective mood because I just attended a wonderful Saturday evening service full of people sharing and testifying about the tranformation they experienced in their own hearts and as a result in their lives because of the work of the Holy Spirit. It was so real and so refreshing. You know (here comes one of those three languages I mention in About Me) I just realized that to translate that into French (because of the work of the Holy Spirit) I would use the expression "grace (au) Saint Esprit." Yes, it's the same word 'grace' we have in English. It's a common way of saying "thanks to" or "by means of." I like that, come to think of it. A blessing in French is often translated "une grace" (there should be a hat on the a, but my program won't let me do that). Inherent in the meaning of the French is that the thing given is coming from beyond us, and it's a gift. So true. Our English "thanks to" also communicates the gratitude aspect of it but what I like about the French usage here is the aspect of "free gift from God". That's actually what the preacher talked about tonight: the free aspect of God's salvation, that amazing work He does to transform us here on earth and I'm convinced beyond this life aswell, it cannot be earned, it can only be received. Quite amazing. Well you can tell I'm reflective and introspective. Have a wonderful Sunday everybody.
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