"When I needed encouragement, You gave me a pep talk.
When I needed help, You rolled up your sleeves.
When I wanted to talk, You listened.
When I needed a hug, You opened your arms.
When I had to vent, You lent me your ears.
When I needed a nudge, You gave me an elbow.
When I required correction, You did it ever so gently.
When all I could do was cry, You stayed right beside me.
And when I needed to pray, You opened your heart."
-Melody Carlson

This took me about two weeks to complete, spending about two to six hours every other day. Things like the eyes, nose, and his mouth took me about four hours, but what was the most time consuming (and likely to drive me insane) was Yeshua's full beard and long hair. But, if I had to choose between which was the worst, the beard wins it hands down.

If you're wondering, Yeshua is the Hebrew version of Jesus's name. Figured I'd give ya'll a heads up if you didn't know already.

I wasn't able to use a camera, so I did what I could with my scanner and an online image editor I found. Think of it as online Photoshop.

This picture took me to places in my heart that I had walled up. It forced me to look in those dark corners and really decide if I wanted to keep living like I was. It wasn't that the picture was hard, just that the subject matter is of something that is quite personal in nature. My only regret is that I couldn't render Him more realistically than my pitiful attempt at it.

It makes me think of something my aunt told me. "You know, artists must hold some of God's creative spark. We are trying to create on paper, wood, and paint what He has given us license to do. Maybe that's why we're all just a little "wierd" by society's standards."