Stronger Will I Grow

I saw my soil as a curse,

Drought and stone my home.

The arid winds have worn my heart,

The desert sands my own.

Yet I have said unto the sun,

Your lessons I now know.

The struggle with death will I have won,

Stronger will I grow.

I was commissioned to paint this by a family friend whom I have known since I was very young. She asked me to paint something for her daughter who has been through hell on earth in the last few years and needed some encouragement and support. I prayed for a picture and word to give her and the first image that came to mind was of a flower blooming out of the cracks of desert rock. The word I got for her I formed into the poem above. We live in a fallen world and circumstances come as they are without rhyme, reason or explanation. It is what we tell ourselves about our circumstances that is much more important and has the power to define us or destroy us. The image itself is a common representation of resilience and has been recreated many times by others but I could see that the trials of my friends’ life were meant to temper her, build her and grow her. It is a perfect representation of the current season of her life and know that this painting and word was timely to give her exactly what she needed at this time.