I Need Thee Every Hour

Remember this post when I showed you a peek at this painting? I finally put the finishing touches on it over the weekend and I have been so excited to share it with you!

The story of this painting started about a month ago when I came across a big life decision. I thought I was feeling fine about everything, but as "the moments" came closer and closer and I had to put my decisions to action, I started to be filled with worry. What if this isn't the right decision? What will this mean for my life? What changes will it bring?, etc. It's not really important to go into details, but lets just say, I worried myself sick! ...I literally felt physically sick on top of the terrible feelings inside. (Anybody else ever feel this way?) 

Then as I began to pray about it, I realized that I tried to handle the entire situation, feelings, decision and all.....on my own. I hadn't really been praying about it, asking for help and wisdom or resting in the peace of Christ. My sweet Lord reminded me one early Monday morning on my couch of a beautiful old hymn, "I Need Thee Every Hour". I had sung it many times in my childhood growing up in church, but it had never meant more to me than in these moments. It was the truth that I needed to be reminded of....I can't do it....only Christ can...and I NEED Him in every moment.

I felt so inspired to paint about this experience so that I would have a physical reminder and so that I could share my story with you. So, I started with a little research about the hymn itself. As it turns out, it was written my Annie Hawks. This woman is someone I could absolutely related to! She was just a normal woman, doing her daily chores at home and realized just how much she needed Christ in every moment. She actually wrote from a place of happy circumstances! Her words were written based on John 15: 4-5, 

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Annie Hawk later wrote," I remember well the circumstances under which I wrote the hymn. It was a bright June day, and I became so filled with the sense of the nearness of my Master that I began to wonder how anyone could live without Him, in either joy or pain. Suddenly, the words I need Thee every hour, flashed into my mind, and very quickly the thought had full possession of me."

This painting is now hanging by my mirror so that each morning I can be reminded of the amazing truth that I need Christ EVERY hour.

happy monday!