Called; 2013; 22″ x 30″; mixed media: charcoal, watercolor, pencil, pastel.

One minute you are leaning back, reveling in early morning-bird songs, relaxed, mind wandering. Then something quickens your spirit. You bolt upright, alert and faintly alarmed. You suddenly become aware that you are in the Presence of One Much Greater. And He is calling you. Maybe the calling is to meet Him for the first time, maybe to do or be something specific, or perhaps just a general sense that He is beckoning you into deeper awareness of His Presence.

Tears stream down your face as fear and inadequacy flood your heart. You whisper your initial response, “No Lord!” – that paradoxical statement uttered by the Apostle Peter. And then you remember Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and her humble acceptance of the angel’s pronouncement. Empowered by the Spirit, you echo her words with trembling and fear, “May it be unto me as you have said.”

You have no idea what it all means; but whatever it is, you trust His Heart. You leap, abandoned to faith in Who He Is.