All Shall be well

"All shall be well; and you will see for yourself that all manner of things shall be well."

Julian of Norwich

I should've post this in the first week of January and not in the last day, but the idea came later. I've thought that it will be a great exercise for me to make an illustration by month with a quote that inspires me, and write a blog post. This year I will take it slowly with work, because our baby girl will come soon and taking care of her will be a priority. I know motherhood it's a kind of full time job and I don't want to put pressure on me by setting up surreal goals, but in the meantime I don't want to cut up all the contact with my usual work neither. So, I thought that making at least one illustration each month it's not that much and this will discipline myself to create in a constant way. :)

I wanted to illustrate another quote in the first place but things changed a little bit in my mind because I've been passing through some difficulties in the last two weeks. Reading the Revelations of Julian of Norwich inspired me and encouraged me very much, and this is why I've chosen this thought. This phrase it's among the revelations she had received from God during her isolation time. I highly recommend this book.

In every situation "all shall be well" for those who put their trust in Christ. He wishes our well-being even if on this falling land we go through a lot of difficulties. He is always here, near us, close to us in this right moment, and by faith and prayer we can touch this reality. God loves each and every one of us, and He created us for eternal happiness but while we live on this earth we are more on a battlefield than on a paradise land... this is how the things are, because the earth is corrupted by evil.

But we can see for ourselves that "all manner of things shall be well", because when we don't cease to pray, things happen and His help comes. God is not just a nice story about beauty and goodness... He is the beauty and the goodness itself, and when we seek we find, when we ask we receive...

May this truth fill you and become real to you too, and all shall be well... :)

A time for harvest

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Galatians 6:9

It's been a while since my last post but you know how it's said, "it's better later than never..":) I will write a few thoughts about the harvest time, and our impatience in waiting for it when times become difficult and trials cross our way. I've chosen some photos from a sunny day at the beginning of this autumn. It was a beautiful day that I’ve spent with my niece Seraphine, in the small farm village named Quins. I've also made an illustration with the two of us, holding our wicker baskets full of fruits.

I believe there is a time of harvesting the fruits of our work and that time will never come earlier than it has to. If we want to pick up ripe fruits we must work the land, and be patient until the right season will come. Yes, I know, sometimes all this labor under the sun becomes difficult, and we get discouraged when we notice the insignificant progress we make in our work, or when nothing seems to change in our character, relationships, and other things like that... but we need to renew our forces and keep on working because this is the only way to succeed, and reap a good harvest. Every one of us has its own land to work, but if we act kindly to one another and give encouragement, this labor we are doing can become less hard.
Let us not become weary in our work and keep in mind that no seed that is being put in good soil will ever die, but it will grow and it will bear fruits! This is the greatest and the most encouraging image that I always try to keep in mind, and when I get tired it gives me the strength to keep going forward. Also, I'm thinking that this is a promise of God, and God cannot lie or deceive but keeps His promises. It always kept His promises in my life when I believed them.

This is my hope and the way I work my own land, always waiting for His dew in the morning, His sun during the day, and His rain when it's needed. I wait for them every day to fall upon me and give me the strength I need for the day ahead.

There is no other secret ingredient for my soil, but only grace from above.