Walk by Faith Through Death: Tackling Tough Questions Concerning Death and Terminal Illness : “Jesus In The Clouds”

I called Dorothy back and told her my relatives came over, and I would be there in a little while. She told me she may go to a dinner with her husband around 6:00 p.m. and to drive to the back of her house where her studio was when I get there. I stayed a little while longer; then felt I should go since it was nearing 4:00 p.m.

Her studio was awesome. The pictures she had painted were all over the studio. Several of her student’s easels were around the room with their unfinished paintings on them. Dorothy also had several of her paintings made into prints and some of the prints were hanging on the walls as well. She had converted a three car garage to make it her studio and also added on a separate room in the back.

I asked her if Mom had taken her painting lessons in her studio, and she said yes. She showed me where Mom used to sit and where her friends sat too. It was neat to see where Mom used to take her painting lessons. I can envision the laughter and good times they had while there.

Dorothy got out a piece of canvas, oil paints, and fixed a palette of colors. She asked me if I wanted to try, and I declined. I had already tried twice and failed. She began to dab a little color on the canvas. She was asking me about what I saw and whether I saw any buildings in the horizon. She was trying to understand what I saw that day, and I described it to her the best I could.

Soon Jesus’ figure started to appear in the blue sky she had painted. The face she painted of Jesus was beautiful. As she painted, we talked about a lot of things including Mom. Thoughts came back reminding me of her, and I again would bite the inside of my mouth, so I would not cry. I fought back the tears when I felt them forming in my eyes.

It was nearing the time she would need to leave, and I told her to let me know when I needed to leave. She told me she probably was not going to go.

Several times she offered me a chance to paint on her painting. There were a couple of times I wanted to, but I did not want to mess it up. The hardest part was painting Jesus’ arms that were outstretched towards the Heavens. After four hours, she was finished. I had her sign her name on her painting. I told her earlier I wanted to pay her for her time. As I was leaving, I asked her if I were a student in her studio for four hours how much would I owe her. She said, “I’m not going to tell you.” She told me God will bless her for what she has done. She also told me Mom would have helped her daughter if she needed help. As I left, I had a good feeling. I felt at peace and said to Jesus as I left, “Thank you Jesus.”