Art Reveal…with a Twist
It’s high time for an art reveal! I recently finished an 11x14 saint sketch for the winner of an art giveaway. But I thought I’d reveal it to you in two parts….
I want to first tell you the story of how this sketch came to be, while also providing you the opportunity to guess the saint. Think of it like a game of “Guess Who.”
I’ll be dropping hints about this saint throughout this post, so make sure you read through to the end. All hints will be in bold font like this. I’ve also included some small portions of this sketch with symbols that might help.
If you are an email subscriber….be the first to guess correctly, and I will send you a free 5x7 print of this sketch after it’s revealed!
And so the story begins…
“I feel like I’m being repeatedly cut with a butter knife” I told my husband, “the wounds aren’t mortal by any means, but, my goodness they still do hurt!!”
We were in the midst of one of those “bad things come in sets of three” kind of months (more like “sets of ten”).
Unexpected (and expensive) house repairs topped the list.
I was determined to pray the surrender novena repeatedly, but alas, the month was so wild, it felt like there was zero time to pray. Every time I’d try, distractions or interruptions prevailed.
On the bright side, I had the opportunity to create a saint sketch for a winner of an art giveaway during this time, and was beyond excited when the winner said that she wanted the chosen saint to be completely inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Most people come into commissions already inspired by the Holy Spirit’s promptings in some way. So this was new.
I couldn’t hide my excitement at first! I had complete confidence that the Holy Spirit would show up in some way, and couldn’t wait to see how.
But that excitement soon morphed into concern.
Did I have enough trust in the Holy Spirit to reveal this saint? Of course!
The problem was that I didn’t trust myself enough to pay attention to His promptings given the hard season of life we were in.
I was afraid I’d miss any clue He’d throw my way.
I kept thinking about a phrase a religious sister said to me in high school, “God doesn’t always speak in lightning bolts…He often speaks in whispers.”
I’ve experienced these little whispers time and time again, but here was a situation where I wasn’t sure I could hear any whisper at all, let alone my own thoughts.
Thus began a frustrating cycle of me starting to ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration, followed by me getting interrupted/distracted time and time again.
Luckily, the recipient of this piece was extremely patient, which was good because she would have to wait a long time before receiving the final sketch.
Fast forward to a rather uncommon evening, where I was able to do something I rarely get to do…take a quick grocery run by myself.
Me…in the car…without kids? Unheard of.
Well, I was nearing the grocery store when I remembered I was entirely alone and void of distractions, meaning this was the perfect time to pray about that saint sketch.
I started to pray, but as I rounded the corner into the parking lot, I was *surprise* interrupted.
A mother and four children asking for financial support were on the side of the road.
I was shocked for a variety of reasons. First of all, I live in a rural area which means I don’t run into sights like this very often. Especially at this particular town/store.
And if I do, I try to keep myself a bit guarded, handing change through a car window…never in person, lest I run the risk of being thrown in a trunk of someone else’s car.
But this was different, and I knew it. This was a mother with four children. And they weren’t looking sad and forlorn. No, the children were running around playing. They seemed happy. And the mother seemed extraordinarily calm and peaceful as she watched them…a slight smile even graced her face.
I made a quick mental note to pay with cash inside so I could have some change to give on the way out.
I went about my shopping and unsympathetically forgot all about the mother with children. When I was back in my car, I started the engine, and again thought,
“Oh, yes, let’s pray about the saint sketch!”
So I started to pray, and as I was praying I looked up and saw *surprise again* the mother with children still there.
Interrupted yet again…but in a good way.
I reached into my wallet where I had to choose between a 5 and a 20. I had a moment of panic as I drove past ( like I said, we had a crazy few months of unexpected house expenses and were pinching pennies. Which bill should I give this mother?)
The eldest daughter came to my window as I rolled it down, and I remorsefully handed her the five. But as I drove away, I glanced at the mother and noticed her nursing a toddler the exact same age as mine.
Gut punch.
I don’t know how to explain it, but as I looked, I knew I was looking at Mary with the infant Christ.
Regardless of how they got on that street corner, they were homeless in some way and humbling themselves.
And I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to go back.
But I had my own children to get back to. I had supper to make. My husband had been digging a giant trench all day to deal with septic tank issues and I knew he’d be exhausted.
So I attempted to ignore the feeling to turn back and kept driving for 15 minutes.
But the further I drove, the more unbearable the urge to turn back became. It got to the point that it was literally painful to keep driving any further.
The narrative that one religious sister told me about God “speaking in whispers” was flipped.
God does often speaks in whispers…but here He was speaking in a lightning bolt.
I called my husband to make sure he could man the fort a bit a longer and explained the situation.
“Why are you still talking?! Of course you need to to turn back!” he said. “Give them everything you have left in your wallet this time!”
So I found an empty lot to turn around in, and, Friends….
My car wasn’t even back on the road when I heard a voice. Not an audible voice, but more like a deep deep thought that was not my own.
Ask her name.
I started laughing and crying at the same time.
Not only did I get to “meet” the Blessed Mother and the Christ Child through this small family, but the Holy Spirit followed through.
The name of someone on that street corner was also the name of the saint I was supposed to sketch. I knew this with unwavering certainty…not something that happens very often.
This veil hiding the saint sketch had been lifted. The only way God could have made it clearer was by putting a star on the foreheads of these people to let me know their role in this sketch.
This was no whisper. It was a huge undeserved lightning bolt.
And here I must end “Part 1” of this story. Did you catch any clues??
Be on the lookout for Part 2 of this story to find out the mystery saint!
Peace to you and yours,
Haley Dessauer
Artist, This Little Fiat
**Disclaimer: I try very hard to make sure the content of my emails align with Church teaching…but I am still human and fallible (and may need occasional help from my brothers and sisters in Christ!) If you read something in one of my emails that does not align with Church teaching, please let me know! Likewise, when in doubt, seek out more information and contact your parish priest.
