in Christ alone. a painting for a friend

i absolutely love it when i get a commission where the client says, "i LOVE your art and what you do. here is the space i want to hang a painting in. .....go...paint..do your thing". in this instance, my friend Gates asked me to do something over her mantle. i went to her house, looked at light, color and feel. i knew that she loves my angels so of course i wanted to do angels. but the sweetness of her kids was what struck me while at her house. she already has had a portrait of her children done and i knew this was not an option or even a desire. her twin son and daughter were so sweet to CRUNCH as i was having my "consultation" with their mom. i definitely thought to myself.... this needs to be a painting of four angels... mom, dad and twins. So i mentioned the idea to Gates and she said, "go for it".
The painting itself was very easy flowing. because it was "right" for what i was trying to accomplish. Gates did not have anything already in her mind and i did not feel pressure to mimic another artist or idea. i felt her confidence in me!
when i delivered the painting to her today.......JOY!......she was so excited and did not want to change a thing! i love the moment that i get to surprise the client/friend with the final product. we got to talk for a while and she made the statement, "i do not know how you can paint something like that". my answer to her was, "i know that God has given me this gift for a reason, for His glory, and i get just as excited about my paintings as the client does because i can honestly say that I DID NOT DO IT." In Christ Alone i have strength and have been given this gift. it is not miraculous or amazing. it is simply the tool the Lord has given me to engage in conversation about Him. to share my his gifts with others. he has also blessed us as a family with the additional funds that this brings. we are very grateful for this. i did not want to leave that out.
i am able to(because i do make some money doing this)give paintings away also as gifts and with those gifts to others, share with them the gospel or remind them that gifts come from above! Thank you Gates for giving me the opportunity to use God's gift to glorify Him. from there Gates and i were able to bond as sisters in Christ.
Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17