I am Victorious, Free, Secure...and a Watercolor Artist
MEET KIM PICKARD DUDLEY
A Note from Carol: I love giving some of my friends a voice on my Joy for the Journey blog. This week, my good friend Kim Pickard-Dudley shares her heart.
Life throws surprises at us sometimes, doesn’t it?
And, every once in a while, the surprises are so, SO GOOD!
About six months ago, out of nowhere, I stumbled onto something I NEVER saw coming. And it was good.
I fell in love again! I found a new passion … you might even call it a bit of an addiction. A good and healthy one, though.
That’s right. For the first time in my life, I picked up a paint brush and became obsessed with watercolor painting!
The reason this is such a surprise is that I am deeply left-brained, analytic and linear. Numbers, analyses and spreadsheets are, and have always been, in my blood. And, I RAN from art, art classes, and such things … for after all, “that’s just not me!” If it couldn’t be analyzed, I would look the other way.
Last week, I was having my morning coffee and this question popped into my head, "would I ever call myself a watercolor artist?”
WHAT?! Me … call myself an artist?
That sounded so incredibly odd! After all, my career titles were things like: Market Analyst, Director of Policy and Economics and Chief Economist.
Watercolor artist?
I began to wonder rather seriously … what would make me a watercolor artist? What would need to happen to give me that title, and have me call myself a watercolor artist?
Would I need to take classes? Paint every day? Be commissioned to paint for someone? I have no idea. Generally, when an event happens, it changes our status. What we call ourselves, right? For example, when I got married, I became, and began to call myself, a wife.
When I gave birth to a sweet baby boy, from that point forward, I became, and began to call myself, a mom.
We can all think of many examples of this … after you graduate from college, you call yourself a college graduate. After you buy a home, you call yourself a homeowner. After you retire, you call yourself retired.
And on and on.
In essence, when an important life event occurs, it may change our status, and subsequently what we call ourselves.
As I began to ponder the event(s) that would need to happen that would lead me to call myself a watercolor artist, I began contemplating an event, which to me as a believer in Jesus, is the most important event in all of recorded history. We’ll be celebrating that event soon, on Easter Sunday, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the blameless Lamb of God, was sent to a horrifying cross by His Father, the Almighty God, to die a cruel death in order to pay for the sins of Humanity.
WOW!
Significantly, Jesus’ death on that Cross marked: (1) the death of living in darkness; and (2) the death sentence of sin.
Profound!
Yet … three days after this darkest day ever, Jesus rose from the grave … like He said He would.
And that’s what we’ll celebrate soon at Easter, the belief in, and the celebration of, the resurrection of Jesus.
An event like no other.
The miracle of all miracles.
A part of history that changed everything.
Jesus Christ … the Son of God … born of a virgin … led a sinless life … died a cruel death … and then rose from the dead. Everything in Jesus’ ministry and Old Testament prophecy was leading up to this! It flipped the sacrificial system from animals to grace!
It saved us from ourselves!
His resurrection changed everything!
In the same way that getting married makes one a spouse and having a child makes one a parent, Jesus’ resurrection forged the way for us to call ourselves something new.
His redemptive death on the cross and His holy resurrection give those of us who put their faith and trust in Jesus new titles. Titles more significant than wife, mom, college graduate, homeowner, retired, and even watercolor artist.
First, some would say that Jesus’ death was the necessary death for our sins, but His resurrection was the VICTORY!
Therefore, a new title… VICTORIOUS!
Sin destroyed us; Jesus paid the price.
He rose; we rise with Him.
Forever.
Second, Jesus says (to Martha) in John 11:25-26 (NIV), “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
In the same way that Jesus rose from the dead, we too will rise and spend eternity in the presence of God.
Another new title … FREE!
We are FREE from the horrendous power of death.
And third, Jesus told his disciples before his death, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be where I am” (John 14:3, NIV)
Peter states in 1 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV), “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…”
Jesus’ resurrection SECURES our future; we are ASSURED of our eternity with God. Another new title … SECURE!
Life on planet earth gets challenging. And sometimes chaotic.
But because of the resurrection of Jesus, there’s more than this life.
There’s a rest of the story.
And it is good.
The rest of the story, if we’ve put our faith, hope, and trust in the virgin birth, sinless life, and the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ, is that we are victorious, free, and secure. We are and will NEVER be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38,39).
Significant events change who we are and what we’re called.
What we call ourselves generally directs how we spend our energy.
For example, as a wife, a mom, a homeowner, and retired … I tend to spend my time and energy nourishing these areas of my life.
Likewise, being victorious, free and secure in my eternity … they, too, direct my energy. On a day-to-day basis, in the crazy and often chaotic life on planet earth, they give me a sense of peace. And hope.
For the last number of months, it seems as though I’ve lived, breathed and dreamt about watercolor painting.
I bought gobs of good paint, special watercolor paper, and other supplies that I needed to get me off to a good start, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since!
I paint as often as I can. I give my paintings to my friends and my family as gifts, and I'm thinking about my next painting all the time.
I’m also taking a watercolor class with about 15 others of all skill levels.
Just before going to press with this blog, I was in class and the woman sitting next to me was admiring one of my paintings. She said, “Kim, you are a true watercolor artist.”
I guess I have a new title.
That settles that.