I created this painting during Lent, a lent Mary was especially on my heart. Not often is her experience during lent talked about. I wonder how she felt. I wonder if she worried. I wonder how often she cried. I wonder what she prayed for. Knowing that God keeps his promises, I’m sure everything in her wanted to trust him. But, her motherly heart likely couldn’t help but feel pain for 40 days while Jesus wondered in the desert slowly approaching his fate.
Often times we as mothers find ourselves spiraling in worry. I believe this worry comes from the deep, unconditional, and fierce love that God instilled in us for our children. We would do absolutely anything for them and the thought of anything painful or bad happening to them is the most daunting thought there is. But, God calls us to trust. He calls us to trust Him with our children. He calls us to believe that his will for them is better than our wants for them. He calls us to hand them to Him while knowing that His promises for them will be kept, and his plan for them is good.
I keep flashing back to Mary This Lent. And that’s what brought me to creating this image of her deep in prayer. We know without a doubt that she was a mother who prayed. And, I think striving to be like Mary is one of the most powerful things that we can do as mothers on this earth. She’s the perfect role model of faith in the unseen, trust in the unknown, and fierce love.
Today, may we all think of mother Mary and her journey through her own wilderness during lent. May she give us the strength to be the mothers God has called us to be and may she help us to
trust in the will of the Father for our children.
This print comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Artwork © Natalie Haydel Barker. All rights reserved.
