Let me tell you about my daughter.
Her name is Hannah Elizabeth Goddard Smith.
She was born in 1988.
She was married in 2014.

When Hannah was four years old we were told that she was blind in one eye, but it never stopped her from doing what she wants to do. She was able to get drivers license when she was 17.

Hannah has always been an incredible lover of people!  She’s always willing to give a person a second chance. ( and a third and a fourth…)

When we went to “back to school” night during her years in elementary and high school, we heard, over and over again, “Oh! You’re Hannah’s parents! We love Hannah!” And now, when she is an adult, when we meet friends of hers that we haven’t known before, we are still likely to hear, “I love Hannah!”

She feels very deeply. She’s extremely empathetic. And she’s loyal, sometimes to a fault.

She’s an artist. Her chosen medium is the written word. She spends hours and hours filling notebooks and computer files. And she’s good at it too!

When Hannah was a small child we discovered that she saw lying as a means to smooth over difficult things she had done or said.  It was just easier for her to lie than to deal with whatever issue it was that caused her to lie. Unfortunately, we never found the solution to this problem.  It wasn’t until after she was married that she was able to finally curb that awful habit.

She was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder when she was 18. She started a regimen of medications and finally, she found a way to deal with a world that she so often felt was out of control. In the early years she would be on them and then go off of them and so life with her was an up and down kind of existence. But when she fell in love with the man she would marry and announced that they were getting married, I told her future husband, right in front of her, that she was a liar and he needed to know that before they were married. 

And she stopped.

When she in her late 20s she was diagnosed with a very large tumor on one of her ovaries. The tumor was removed along with that ovary.

Hannah has a strong faith in Jesus. As she has increased in years her love of God has grown and grown.

One of her favorite things to do is sit outside on the chase lounge and experience nature and write.
🌸. 🌸. 🌸. 🌸. 🌸
Now, let me tell you about mother.
Her name was Janet Katheryn Orth Russell.
She was born in 1924 and was married in 1943.

When my mother was a toddler, her mother was told that Janet was blind in one eye. She was never comfortable driving a car and so never got her drivers license.

Janet was an incredible lover of people! She was always willing to be friends with anyone who needed a friend.

She was a deep feeler, extremely empathetic.

My mother was an artist, even with limited eyesight she could draw and paint and when she was a teenager it was suggested that she apply to Parsons School of Design. But it was during the depression, so that opportunity was never realized.

As a youngster, Janet had a highly developed sense of humor. She loved pulling pranks on people; sometimes seemingly cruel and tasteless.

She was never diagnosed with bi-polar disorder because in those days, as she put it, “You don’t go the doctor unless you’re dying or you broke your leg.” 

It was the cruelest of diseases that left her highly anxious all the days of her life. She would go from brilliant highs to unutterable lows using alcohol to medicate herself. 

When she in her early 30s she was diagnosed with a very large tumor on one of her ovaries. The tumor was removed along with that ovary.
She was told that she couldn’t have any more children. Two years later I was born.

One of her favorite things to do was to sit outside on the chase lounge and work on crossword puzzles.

My mother died when she was 68 years old, from alcohol poisoning.

So, why am I telling you these things?

Over the years I’ve noticed incredible similarities between my daughter and my mother, you have been able to see by reading this.

They both were/are blind in one eye. They both were/are lovers of people.
They both were/are highly empathetic. They were/are both artists. They both had ovarian tumors removed. They both loved to sit quietly in the sun They both suffered from bi-polar disorder.

But as I look back on my mother’s life, it was so often bitter and sad, but my daughter’s life, though sometimes filled with tragedy, has been one of overcoming her mental illness and striving to be an example of how the Lord uses everything we go through.

As I was coming out of the house a couple of days ago, I saw Hannah sitting in the sun and I marveled again at how similar she is to my mom. But then I had a thought that Hannah, her life, and the example she sets, is like seeing my mother if she had chosen to be treated for her mental illness. But it wasn’t a sad thought. My mom’s in heaven now. I can’t be sad about that. But seeing Hannah in that chase lounge filled me with happiness because the curse of bi-polar disorder has been broken in my daughter! She is free indeed, because she knows the love of the Father through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, when I see my daughter and she reminds me of my mom, I’m happy. It’s almost like she’s my mom all over again, living the best life she could have lived.

How amazing it is it when the Lord sends you a very specific blessing that involves others in a marvelous and supernatural way?

Several weeks ago I received an email from someone who had visited my website. His name is Reverend Barnabas Sprinkle. (I kid you not!) He is the lead pastor at Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church in upstate NJ.

In his email he mentioned that he noticed I am a prophetic painter and would I be interested in coming to his church for his annual Maundy Thursday evening service and make a painting.

Well, of course, I was overjoyed!

I began thinking right away, wondering what the Lord would show me. At first I thought of a really elaborate painting that represents the days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter morning. But I knew that wasn’t right. There wouldn’t be time.

True to form, the week before Holy Week came and the Lord gave me the picture.  It was a fountain; a large, lovely fountain sending out glittering streams of water.

I wanted to represent how it feels to be drenched by God.
During times of worship I often feel like I’m being drenched in cool refreshing water. I hoped the painting would make the congregants of Liberty Corners Presbyterian Church long for experiences like that!

I found this hymn a couple of days before the service. It was written by A. B. Simpson. I wrote it down on a piece of paper and tucked in the back of the canvas.

I have come to the Fountain of Life,
A fountain that flows from above;
I have passed from the waters of strife
And come to the Elim of love;
I have drunk of the heavenly well,
In the depths of my being it springs.
No mortal can measure or tell
The gladness the Comforter brings.

We arrived right on time and and set up was quick and easy. I shared the stage with the worship band. I painted with my back to the congregation so they could watch my progress. And I finished up right at the perfect moment!

If you want to know how Jesus can knock your socks off AND be an amazing giver of God’s good gifts, 

Learn to be a Prophetic Artist!  
Learn to deal with the anxiety that comes with revealing yourself in a real and vulnerable way.  
Learn to put the joy of the Lord into every stroke of your paintbrush/pencil.

Take a look at my website page:
https://www.judygoddardart.com/intimacywithjesus.html

My retreat: Intimacy With Jesus Through Prophetic Art
is tailor made for you!

www.judygoddardart.com/intimacywithjesus.htmlIf you want to know how Jesus can knock your socks off AND be an amazing giver of God’s good gifts, 

Learn to be a Prophetic Artist!  
Learn to deal with the anxiety that comes with revealing yourself in a real and vulnerable way.  
Learn to put the joy of the Lord into every stroke of your paintbrush/pencil.

Take a look at my website page:
https://www.judygoddardart.com/intimacywithjesus.html

My retreat: Intimacy With Jesus Through Prophetic Art
is tailor made for you!