I Heard a Loving Voice, 2022

This painting means the world to me. Telling the whole story of how it came to be—and everything that happened afterward—would take a long time, and I’m honestly debating whether I should spill every little detail here.

But to keep it simple: this piece came from a place of deep curiosity and wonder about God's love. I wasn't thinking about some broad, abstract idea of it, but rather the mysterious, beautiful way He loves one specific person. I was just in awe, sensing so clearly how God's heart cherishes this particular girl. The depth of that love was so overwhelming that I’d literally find myself stopped in my tracks in the middle of the street, completely caught off guard by the beauty of it.

Work in progress (I Heard a Loving Voice, 2022)

Looking back, it wasn't simply a matter of knowing I liked her. I felt this unexplainable attraction toward her, a pull that I couldn't quite make sense of. Because of that feeling, I decided to tell her what was in my heart, but she turned me down. She did it so clearly and with so much respect.

Honestly, I’m so thankful for how it happened. God used that moment as a form of "traffic control." on my end. It wasn't just about wrapping up the situation; it was about holding up a mirror to my own heart and showing me the areas where I still needed to grow up. I’m incredibly grateful to Him for that redirection. And I feel a deep sense of gratitude toward her, too.

Detail image of a pink line of sphere in the room where the voice of "you are loved" is echoing
Detail image of a light that came through a crack in the room where the voice of "you are loved" is echoing
Detail image of a thin plant and an outline of the Sun through window in the room where the voice of "You are loved" is echoing
Detail image of falling snow in the room where the voice of "You are loved" is echoing.

I wrote a short reflection during those moments when I first felt that love:

“To whom could I turn to understand why the smile of the One who gazes upon you—unable to contain His joy—becomes clearer by the day? I cannot fathom why the voice of the One calling your name is so sheltering and warm, nor why the fragrance of love enveloping you is so tender.

Boy Playing with a Dog, 1827 by Luigi Pampaloni
at Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, Italy

Perhaps a gentle breeze fills your silent heart, its whispers a constant, playful chatter. Perhaps it tenderly pats your sleeping soul, waking it without a start. Does the song of joy hovering above your head now echo as a ceaseless melody within your lips? Are you perhaps reaching out your hand toward the light that found its way through the cracks of your heart? I take my own oversized greed—which I tried to disguise as something small—and shake it restlessly within me, breaking it down into a flurry of question marks. Regardless of my bustling questions, I am learning how to cherish this moment where time has stood still for reasons unknown.

Detail image of a paper boat in a room where the voice of "you are loved" is echoing
Detail image of I Heard a Loving Voice, 2022

I wish to know the color and the scent of the flower that has blossomed within you—the flower tended by the love of the One who looks upon you with such favor from beginning to end, the One who declares you are so very lovely.

Into that hour where there was no movement, no sound, and no color, a light arrived. That light, approaching so warmly, must be love. You are the one who receives that love, the one who will be stilled by it. I do not know love myself, but following that light, I try to love you as well. I love you.”

I Heard a Loving Voice, 2022

This painting means the world to me. Telling the whole story of how it came to be—and everything that happened afterward—would take a long time, and I’m honestly debating whether I should spill every little detail here.

But to keep it simple: this piece came from a place of deep curiosity and wonder about God's love. I wasn't thinking about some broad, abstract idea of it, but rather the mysterious, beautiful way He loves one specific person. I was just in awe, sensing so clearly how God's heart cherishes this particular girl. The depth of that love was so overwhelming that I’d literally find myself stopped in my tracks in the middle of the street, completely caught off guard by the beauty of it.

Work in progress (I Heard a Loving Voice, 2022)

Looking back, it wasn't simply a matter of knowing I liked her. I felt this unexplainable attraction toward her, a pull that I couldn't quite make sense of. Because of that feeling, I decided to tell her what was in my heart, but she turned me down. She did it so clearly and with so much respect.

Honestly, I’m so thankful for how it happened. God used that moment as a form of "traffic control." on my end. It wasn't just about wrapping up the situation; it was about holding up a mirror to my own heart and showing me the areas where I still needed to grow up. I’m incredibly grateful to Him for that redirection. And I feel a deep sense of gratitude toward her, too.

At Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, Italy
Boy Playing with a Dog (1827) by Luigi Pampaloni

I wrote a short reflection during those moments when I first felt that love:

“To whom could I turn to understand why the smile of the One who gazes upon you—unable to contain His joy—becomes clearer by the day? I cannot fathom why the voice of the One calling your name is so sheltering and warm, nor why the fragrance of love enveloping you is so tender.

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Perhaps a gentle breeze fills your silent heart, its whispers a constant, playful chatter. Perhaps it tenderly pats your sleeping soul, waking it without a start. Does the song of joy hovering above your head now echo as a ceaseless melody within your lips? Are you perhaps reaching out your hand toward the light that found its way through the cracks of your heart? I take my own oversized greed—which I tried to disguise as something small—and shake it restlessly within me, breaking it down into a flurry of question marks. Regardless of my bustling questions, I am learning how to cherish this moment where time has stood still for reasons unknown.

Detail image of a paper boat in a room where the voice of "you are loved" is echoing
Detail image of I Heard a Loving Voice, 2022

···

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

···

I wish to know the color and the scent of the flower that has blossomed within you—the flower tended by the love of the One who looks upon you with such favor from beginning to end, the One who declares you are so very lovely.

Into that hour where there was no movement, no sound, and no color, a light arrived. That light, approaching so warmly, must be love. You are the one who receives that love, the one who will be stilled by it. I do not know love myself, but following that light, I try to love you as well. I love you.”

···

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

···