CHRISTIAN FINE ART GALLERY > SIGNS OF THE TIMES SERIES > Don’t Get Distracted – Left Panel – 1/3
Original Artwork: ONFS, Panel 1 (left) 70cm x 40cm (27.5″ x 16″), Acrylic on Canvas
This painting is based on an End Times dream that was given on November 15, 2008. It has most relevance to Christians. From left to right, the 3 panels tell the story of the dream. This is the first part of the dream, and I have given my account of it below. The circumstances in the beginning of my dream symbolically fit what I was going through in real life at that time.
I believe this dream was God’s warning to me to stay focused. The troubling events in my life at that time were taking my attention away from God, taking away my sense of urgency of the End Times and taking me away from the Lord’s work I was meant to be doing. I see that God gave this dream to me to awaken me, to put these earthly circumstances back into their proper, eternal perspective and to aright my focus once again.
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man [Jesus]” (Luke 21:34-36).
Artist’s Reflection:
Panel 1:
I was walking out to my car through the parking lot of the local grocery store. With me was my husband, Joe, and my sister (with whom I have a mildly strained relationship). (*In my dreams from God, my earthly sister is sometimes symbolic of a sister in Christ (Mark 3:31-35). That was the case in this dream. The way my sister treated me in this dream was symbolically the way a particular sister in Christ was treating me in real life at that time.)
When we got near the car, she got impatient with me for no reason. In disgust she walked over to the driver’s side and sat down behind the steering wheel. She turned on the ignition while Joe and I were still standing outside the car. I thought to myself, “What on earth are you doing? You’ve just taken over our car without even asking.” However, I mostly trusted her because she was my sister, so I assumed she had some good reason for what she was doing despite her presumption.
That all changed when, in the next moment, she pulled out of the parking space and began to drive away without us. Confused and irritated, we chased after her on foot.
She was still driving through the parking lot when she had to stop for a car that was backing out of a parking space. (*This driver, I believe, was symbolic of a brother in Christ whose actions fit our real life situation at the time). We caught up with her as she was waiting for him. The other driver clearly saw my sister had the right of way. Nevertheless, he was completely bent on pulling out of that parking spot irregardless of her. He was being completely selfish and impatient and refused to yield to her and let her go her way.
The only problem was that my sister was just as selfish and impatient and refused to yield to him too (even though she did have the legal right of way). She was bent on getting where she wanted to go irregardless of him.
Though she had initially stopped for him, she soon changed her mind and began driving forward as he was backing out. I could see there was going to be a collision and that both cars would be damaged if someone did not stop and yield to the other. I began to yell out to my sister (who could hear me because she had the windows rolled down), “Stop! Stop! Stop! You’re going to hit him!”
Nevertheless, she didn’t listen to me and kept pulling forward, so I lunged after the car to bang on it with my hand to get her attention (even though she could fully see the situation for herself). Joe and I yelled out again more frantically, “Stop!!!! Stop!!!! Let him pull out!!!”
However our yelling was to no avail. My sister, in stubborn selfishness, deliberately rammed him, damaging both cars. To make matters worse, the guy then deliberately rammed her back. I kept yelling, “Stop!!! What in the heck do you think you’re doing??!!!!!! Are you absolutely crazy??!!! Stop!!! Stop!!! STOP!!!!!”
I could hardly believe it when my sister then reversed the car to have another go at him….and she deliberately rammed him again, a bit harder. I was even more shocked when the man then pulled forward to have another go at her. They kept reversing and ramming each other back and forth as I stood there helpless and completely appalled (and terribly confused) as to what was going on. What on earth was possibly making them behave like this? Had they thrown out all reason and gone completely crazy? I kept yelling at them, trying to get them to stop, but it was to no avail. Both drivers ignored me because they were too hardened and bent on their desires to continue ramming each other.
By this point, I was starting to get really angry and exasperated with them. I was also becoming more and more distressed about the increasing damage needlessly being done to our car. I could tell that they were going to continue ramming each other until they totalled both of the cars. I was very upset with them and their wicked, sinful, unyielding attitudes. Soon our car would be completely wrecked! I was also greatly distressed that all of this was wrongfully being done to me for absolutely no reason, nevermind by my own sister!
Go to the next part of the dream: Don’t Get Distracted – Center Panel – 2/3