Paint Party Friday: Second Chances!

 Work in progress for 3 paintings I need to come up with for an exhibit in

 Manila Hotel, a prestigious hotel with a rich history.

 "What profit would a man show if he were to gain the whole world and ruin himself in the process?" Matthew 16:26

There can't be two more different people than Leah Darrow and John Pridmore. One was a successful fashion model who had her face splashed on Times Square, buses and subways while living the so called good life. The other was a gangster who had expensive cars and made money faster than he could spend from protection rackets and drug deals.

Leah Darrow was on a photo shoot in a skimpy outfit, making sexy poses when she saw herself the way Jesus saw her. She saw her empty hands and knew she was using all the wonderful gifts God had given her for herself and it made Him very sad. She ran out and called her father. "Dad if you don't come and get me, I'll lose my soul!" Her dad came after driving so far and brought her to church to confess her sins.

John Pridmore's mom had just prayed that Jesus would take her son because she could see the monster he had become. After John hit a guy with a knuckleduster and that man smashed his head on the curb, John drove home and heard his conscience for the first time in his life. John was then confronted with the reality of God. Then he felt God withdrawing. He got terrified and cried out to God from a place of desolation for another chance. He was instantly lifted up. At a spiritual retreat he felt an urge to go to confession. He said, "My sins killed me but confessing them brought me back to life."

Today Father John Pridmore and Leah Darrow go around the world preaching God's message and spreading His love. What a wonderful testimony of second chances and God's amazing grace!

"We ourselves heard this said from heaven while we were in His company on the holy mountain." 2 Peter 1:18

Peter is talking about what happened in Mark, chapter 9, verses 2-10. Jesus had taken him, along with James and John up a high mountain. There they saw Jesus transfigured, glowing with unearthly light. They saw Elijah and Moses speaking with Jesus. In awe, they also saw a cloud overshadowing them, and out of it, came a voice: "This is my beloved Son. LISTEN TO HIM."

Most of us have not had encounters with God like Peter's, but God does break into our ordinary everyday lives. We just need eyes to see Him. Take the example of the two followers of Jesus walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem (Luke 24:13+). They did not recognize Him when He walked and talked with them. The truth is God speaks to us and walks with us in our ordinary, every day encounters with people, the situations we find ourselves in, what we feel, what we see, what we take for granted. We just need to LISTEN, open our eyes and SEE Him. I so admire preachers, authors, and anybody, who can take a story out of their every day life, and squeeze a lesson out of it. Because the lessons are there. The diamonds are buried for us to find, especially in the hard places we want to avoid and get out of. If I review my day yesterday, I will see that God broke through with His love in the hug from my husband, His peace as I tackled all the work I had to do, His creativity and courage as I painted a big canvas for an upcoming art exhibit in Manila Hotel, His patience with dealing with an overdue account. Sometimes, there are big lessons, but most of the time, they are small lessons we have to be grateful for. If we LISTEN, eventually, like the two followers of Jesus on their way to Emmaus, Jesus will open our eyes to really see Him!

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patsy