Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
This painting is my prayer for one of my childhood friends who recently lost her husband. She has two precious girls, named Nancy and Frances, who are 3 and 1, respectively. The morning before her husband passed away, Jarrell asked a friend to call to ask me to pray for her husband. I did not completely understand the gravity of the situation at the time. I only knew that she had asked me to pray, so I simply prayed for her husband to get well. The phrase "healing in its wings" kept running through my thoughts. I knew I had heard that phrase in scripture somewhere before but could not seem to place it. Although, I was not completely clear on what the phrase meant, I prayed that God would bring "healing in [his] wings." As dusk came though, her husband had only grown progressively worse. I sat down to have a quick meal with my family before heading to the hospital to visit her. We have a small wooden box which belonged to my grandmother that sits in the center of our table. It is called God's Treasure Chest and is filled with small scripture cards which my children and I take turns choosing at meal times. That night, I randomly pulled a scripture card from the middle of the box, only to read the words, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings." I almost fell out of my chair as the words rolled off my tongue, as God had just given me the same verse that he had given me that morning.
My hope was that healing would come for her husband on this earth, but he passed away in the early hours of that morning, leaving my friend with two young girls to raise without their father. I am still not completely sure why God brought that scripture to mind and then confirmed it through the treasure chest, but as I prayed through the scripture, this painting is the image He gave me for her precious family. The calves represent her two girls. I pray that as Nancy and Frances grow, they would know, even in the absence of their father, that they have a heavenly Father who loves them more than any earthly father ever could. They have an amazing God fighting for them and for their loving mother. I pray that every time Jarrell looks at this painting that now hangs in her bedroom, she would feel the love of Christ and know she is never alone. Jesus is with her, and He will rise with healing in his wings. Amen