I AM
SKU 046

This poster is one of my very favorites. The verse is great, the colors rich, the hands fairly accurate ... but mostly because of the adventure I went through to complete it.

A good customer asked for this verse, and waited patiently for me to get inspired. As usual, I prayed and asked the Lord what He wanted. I didn't "get" anything, like my God-antennea was crooked or turned the wrong direction. I was running out of time, and I finally gave it over to God (duh!) in frustration, and wrote my customer a discouraged email. I'm sure she must have prayed for me, for the very next morning I awoke with a complete and powerful picture in my mind.

So, I sit down to draw it out. I tried to use my own hands. The hands I saw in my mind I couldn't draw because I couldn't get my hands upside down and facing me - and still draw them. Well duh. So I had my daughter take a few digital pics of them doing what I wanted them to do, and printed the pics out. And it was obvious, artistic license aside, that these were "girl" hands. I mean, I'm tall, and my hands are large, but no matter how I altered them, they were STILL girl hands. Now, I know some folks call God female, but that's not in the Book, so it just wasn't gonna work.

OK. Who can I tap --- right now while the Holy Spirit creativity was flowing --- who has great "God" hands? Has to be a guy. Duh. He has to work with them because I wanted wisdom and sensitivity and competancy in my God-hands. So I go running about town, in my wacky painting clothes (they all know me anyway and figured I was about art business of one sort or another), looking for hands to digitally photograph ("I'm working on an idea ... may I please photograph your hands?"). The chiropractor was nearly it, and suprisingly, an older teen working at Subway was pretty close, too. But I just wasn't feelin' it yet. Eventually, I thought of George, who not only owned and operated the biggest insurance agency in town, but also vocated a fair-sized fishing boat, so his hands should be suitably knotty and muscular. Besides which, he went to my church, so, if he was in, and if he had time, I'm thinking - this could be the one.

I get to his office, and amazingly, he was in, doing work on his computer, and when he stopped laughing his head off, actually agreed to pose for my picture. So, I haul this leather office chair over in front of his desk, and shucking my shoes, I climbed up to get a better angle. Meanwhile, his employees, most of whom I know, are going past the door laughing because I'm standing on a chair in the president's office, in my wacky painting clothes, making the big boss do all kinds of contortions to get the right shot. It was hilarious! Eventually I got enough shots, painted it, and the customer was very happy with it.

In hindsight, it was also humbling to realize something. George, whom I deeply respect as a businessman and a pillar in my church, cared enough about the call on my life to put aside a few minutes of his precious time to accomodate me without an appointment, and to endure the teasing with patience and a smile. For me, that's a biggie. How often do I take the time and make the effort to help others when they ask for it, no matter how inconvenienced I might be? George did. I will remember that the next time I'm "tapped".

George works diligently for the Kingdom. I think in the end it blessed him to know that, on our website and wherever "I Am" ends up, truly, his hands are His hands.