"Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth." - Alma 26: 37
This Scripture really hit me when I read it this summer in Mexico, as I was surrounded by so many people of different cultures and backgrounds. My circle of friends included people from Japan, India, Australia, Germany, China, Russia, Lebanon, the United States, and of course, Mexico. It was wonderful to see how God truly was acting in the lives of each one. I knew that God truly did "number" us and knew us individually.
The idea of God "numbering" his people also brought to mind a little quirk of mine. When it comes to my little boys' toys I have this habit of counting every toy as we pick up, so that we don't lose any. I'm very proud to say that my mother-in-law gave a set of 30 colored wooden blocks to my 3 year old 2 years ago, and we still have all 30. I can't tell you how many times I have counted to 30 as I have put those blocks away, and sometimes I would get to 26 or 27, and realize I had 3 or 4 blocks I had to search out. I'd find one in the bookcase, a couple in the toy box, but when I found all 30 I felt such a weird kind of peace knowing that they were all safely tucked away in the cloth block bag until we would bring them out again to play. A couple times I would put them away with one still missing, and I had that one block in the back of my mind until we would find it a couple days later in a couch cushion or under the piano. And every time I found that last block, I considered it a small victory.
I know God feels the same way about His children, He "numbers" us because He doesn't want to lose a single one. He wants us all to come back home again to Him, to all be safely gathered in. He also "numbers" us as a symbol, to tell us that He is aware of the "the one".
I will now be incorporating this theme into many of my portraits to come by hiding a small number somewhere in the painting. In this particular painting I have two numbers, one to represent the group of people in the painting that was painted in 1839, and one to represent the girl visiting the gallery in 2011. For God knew His people in 1839, and He knows us still today.
9" x 12" oil on panel
SOLD
6 comments:
This is amazing! You're amazing!!! Love it! Can't wait to see the rest of the numbers series :)
I am the same way. I have to have every piece of every toy set. It must run in the family, wanting everything complete. I love your idea of the numbers in the pictures. The spiritual thought behind the idea is wonderful.
i love the entire concept, but more importantly i love your honest thoughts. i can't wait to see the rest as you produce them-you are amazing!
Im so glad the whole world knows about your OCD with the boys toys now! bahaha. LOVE the painting Jen. Its fabulous.
Very inspiring and beautiful as always Jenedy:)
I loved that story/analogy of the blocks. You're a great storyteller. And you're a great friend too, thank you for the kind words the other day on my blog! I hope one day I will have your discipline or at least a measure of it. My art has been coming out in spurts lately between dry spells...but anyway, nice painting as usual, and hope you have a great Sabbath.
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