Facing Goliath

I am honored to share this blog post written by our daughter-in-law, Stacey. 
Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas!

An old friend called out of the blue and asked me to be apart of a special event. As she told me a little bit more about it, my first thought was... wow, I'm honored you'd even think of me... and you've definitely got the wrong person!

In a nutshell she wanted me to stand in front of 300 plus people and paint a picture of Mary and Christ during the reading of It Began in a Manger by Max Lucado, oh and in about 12-15 minutes. No big deal, right?!?! Well, maybe not to some but certainly to someone who
A. hyperventilates at the thought of being in a room full of strangers, let alone stand on a stage with their full attention;
B. is completely un-confident {yes, I realize that's not a word} in the ability to draw people, less yet our Lord and Savior, you know the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings!!!!
And C. has a hard time doing anything in a handful of minutes (I've self diagnosed myself with a serious case of ADD becoming more severe with age)!


But she didn't ask anyone else, and the Lord was really tugging at my heart. I read the story and started to cry. I've heard the story of Jesus's birth a million times but reading it this time, this version, something was different. I thought of Mary holding her newborn baby, as a new mom, looking at her little miracle so tiny and helpless. All the emotions that must have gone through her mind... On This I could relate to, which I'm so grateful to be able to say; I could begin to understand Mary in a different way. 
Immediately a picture came to mind and I felt that familiar tug at my heart yet again. The picture I was led to was not the traditional one I remember from Sunday school of Mary and Christ, or even the one often seen on Christmas cards of Jesus in a manger, but I was reminded of a picture taken of our son a few days old as I held him in my arms. It was a natural unposed picture capturing a moment that every new mom can relate to.


God started speaking to my heart, encouraging me to trust Him, that I could do this, He would help me do this. This thing I saw as Goliath, this thing I couldn't possibly do, this thing I wasn't talented nor confident enough to do.  So I agreed to do it...After all God had tugged at my heart before, and it led my husband and I to adopt our son, and that turned out to be more of a blessing than we had dreamed of. If I could honor God with the gift He gave to us, how could I say no?  


It took a couple months to figure out the logistics... We changed it from painting to chalk drawing on black paper, and added some time with the reading and the song Mary Did You Know (along with a million other behind the scenes organizing and planning I had nothing to do with, but my friend and a group of wonderful people at the church worked endless hours on). But the composition stayed the same, a simple innocent baby's face cradled in his mothers arms. 

After lots of practice and even more prayers, the day arrived. It was time to face "Goliath." I had been  calling it this with my husband throughout the whole process but that morning I actually read the story in 1samuel of David and Goliath. Although it was Quite {with a capital Q}, different circumstances there were some similarities... I was terrified and about to go to battle with a tall order of fears, facing them head on and unarmed. But the Lord had my back and held my hand (literally in my case).

Once again I trusted him and once again I was blessed because if it! It was an amazing experience that I was so humbled to be apart of. It wasn't the greatest work of art, lots of little mistakes, but in combination with the heartfelt reading, stage set up, lighting, atmosphere, and music, the message was clear... It began in a manger, and that's what Christmas is all about. 

Although I'm glad it's over, I'm so thankful to have been apart of that event {A Christmas Remembered at Old Fort Baptist Church} I faced my fears, my "Goliath,"and was reminded in the process how good  and reliable God is! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me ~ Philippians 4:13... Good to remember when bigger "Goliath's" come along!


You can see more of Stacey's creative talents by going to her website: www.sweetaspeas.com

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