Art & Soul post #25 by guest author JoDe Bradt-
2020. Just the mention of that year and your mind will probably take a journey back. It evokes strong emotions in practically everyone. For me, it was a year that became a total trust fall into the arms of Jesus. I have loved Him for as long as I can remember, but that year took my trust in Him to new levels. I had nowhere to turn except to Him.
My husband and I own event-based businesses, and, during that time when no events could be held, it was tough. We had no idea how we would make ends meet. As I sat at my kitchen table asking the Lord how this was going to work, I heard Him tell me, “Just continue to pay your tithe.” So that’s what we did. Then, I started asking Him what we could do to fill the gap. How would we fill in the missing income that we needed? Two ideas popped into my head. The first one was to make yard signs using cutouts of large letters to wish people “happy birthday” or to announce other happy occasions on their front lawns. I was delighted that this idea turned out to be a hit! As I put up each sign in the early morning hours, I prayed blessings upon each recipient. I prayed that they would feel the love of the Lord.
The signs were easy enough to make, but the second idea God gave me was a little more personal and took me way outside of my comfort zone. During my quiet time with the Lord, I sometimes receive pictures in my head of a verse that stands out to me that day, and so I get a canvas and paint it. Doing lettering has always been a happy place for me, but I never considered it anything special, and I most definitely did not consider myself an artist. For years, I told myself that it wasn’t productive for me to create… there were so many other things that I could be doing. Then I had an epiphany that, because I had been made in the image of the Creator, I too was made to create. I had made several of these canvases in my quiet time. I realized during 2020 that I needed to make my quiet time paintings available for purchase as one more way to help fill the gap. The paintings served not only as a creative release for me but also as a message of hope for those who purchased them.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
I’ve painted a number of these scripture paintings over the past couple of years. Many have been gifted to friends and family and many have been purchased. All have helped my heart in one way or another.
After a particularly emotional time during which many tears were cried, I was reminded in prayer that He knows every tear I’ve ever cried. I picked myself up off the floor of my prayer closet to find the verse. A quick search took me to Psalm 56:8 (NLT)…
You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
It was a verse that I had highlighted in my Bible, and I saw that I had written in the margin, “He knows every tear you’ve cried.” Then I remembered reading that, depending upon how a tear is shed, each looks different under a microscope. Rose-Lynn Fisher is an artist who studied her own tears and the tears of others under a microscope and recorded her findings in her book, The Topography of Tears. You can view the different images of tears she photographed on her website, Rose-LynnFisher.com. A tear of grief looks different than a tear of laughter. A tear caused by the smell of onions is different from a tear caused by a memory. So not only does He know every tear we shed, our tears are indeed different as confirmed by scientific observation! This painting came from that moment…
The tears you cry are not in vain. When those tears are shed, you are not alone. He knows each one of them, and, rest assured, He is holding you as they fall down your cheek, and He is catching them in His bottle.
The year of 2020 was a year of many trials; however, it was also the year that I began to trust Jesus on a whole new and deeper level. I now know that, not only can I completely trust Him with my finances, I can trust Him with my sorrows and every other detail of my life as well!
–JoDe Bradt
I was so blessed to meet JoDe and be the recipient of her He Knows Every Tear You’ve Cried… painting at the Arise Women’s Summit in Tennessee the first week of June 2022. I don’t believe that it was a coincidence that we sat near each other in the same row each day of the summit. We had the opportunity to share with each other during break times, and she prayed over me as I shed my own tears regarding some difficult things I was going through at the time. Thank you so much, JoDe! Your prayers, words of encouragement, and painting helped bring healing to me! I will be forever grateful!
-Elana Brownfield.
3 thoughts on “Trust and Tears”
JoDe has a great testimony of the faithfulness of God! We can trust Him with the details of our lives including our finances. How interesting that our tears of grief are different from our tears of laughter. I love knowing that and also that our tears are not in vain and God catches them in a bottle.
Through the years I have shed many tears: tears of joy and tears of sorrow. I also find it interesting that mine and our tears of grief are different from mine and our tears of laughter. I find joy in knowing that mine and our tears are not in vain and that God catches them in a bottle. Now for some words from songs we sing at the Salvation Army Cwmbran Corps. For the joys and for the sorrows, the best and worst of times, for each moment, for tomorrow, for all that lies behind. Fears that crowd around me. The failure of my plans, the hopes and fears of all the years, the truth of what I am. For this I have Jesus. For this I have Jesus. For this I have Jesus. I have Jesus.
JoDe, thank you so much for sharing your heart, your artwork, and your story! They are all so beautiful! We are so very blessed! Keep creating the artwork that He lays on your heart! ❤️