July 12, 2017
I Started Doodling with my daughter who is still at home. We learned it from my friend who is on her umpteenth round of Chemo. In the natural, she shouldn’t be alive. But she is Brave! She puts all of her trust and faith in Jesus and completely trusts Him to meet her needs and use everything to bring Him glory, even her Cancer and especially through her art.
The last 5 times I have seen my friend, who lives several hours away, I think it is going to be the last time I will see her. Her son surprised me last month by saying he was going to be driving her here to see her parents and asked if they could stay with us. Honestly I was a little stressed because I knew we had a lot going on that month, but God worked out all the details! I instantly was eager for the visit as they always end up being such a retreat for both of us. It like putting the world on hold and keying into a deep spiritual relationship with another saint. As it turned out, we were gone 2 of the days they were here which allowed them to have time and space to have visitors over! I made one request to my friend, that she teach me something of her artistic ability, because this is a sampling of art that I own from her:
(See and BUY Jeanette’s art at her website; Jyvonne Inman)
I wanted to sit at her feet and learn something from her so I could say Jeanette taught me how to do this! It wasn’t easy for us to sit down and do that together. She had just found out upon arrival to our home that the cancer had grown in her back and she had been experiencing a lot of pain.
She had a fever a few of the days she was here, which is frightening to some one in her delicate state. She also got sick while she visited and was a bit weak. But there was some space carved out one evening where she sat with me and my children and told us that all art starts with doodles!
Of course her doodles are masterpieces, but we all worked on our individual pieces as she related how the contrasts are often like the contrasts in life and wove kingdom lessons into everything she taught. “We can’t appreciate the light unless we compare it against the dark times.”
Here is my friend, our evening together and the doodle I made!
I haven’t been feeling all that brave, strong or courageous lately, that is why I wrote the reminder down. After writing this post, I can’t help by be inspired by this woman who is incredibly brave everyday. From the time our children were all at home (11 children between us) and we were home-schooling moms, to this last visit, Jeanette has inspired me and brought the peace of Jesus to my mind and heart….and reminds me again to be brave. Thank you my friend, I love you<3