When I painted the original of this painting on a large piece of illustration board I pulled out some of the largest brushes I’ve ever used and mixed up bowls full of watercolor. Paint dripped onto my shoes and some spattered onto my dorm room wall, it was chaos and uncertainty. The blues and greens bleeding together I felt totally out of control of the outcome. I was totally out of control of the outcome– and I realized isn’t that true of my whole life?

Titled after Daniel 2:22 which says, “He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him,” this watercolor painting is an invitation into the mystery of God and to trust that for all we cannot see, do not know, and are uncertain about, God knows, is in control, and is not surprised. Painting this image was a journey of feeling wildly out of control and trusting the process as I worked with lots of water and let the paint bleed. The red, almost branch-like part across the middle felt like an invitation to me to trust my Holy King and cry out “Hosanna” even when life may not look like how I thought or expected it would.