Joy to the World

I wanted to create a nativity painting that captures the joy, the warmth, and the excitement that Mary and Joseph, the angels, the Wise Men, and the shepherds must have felt on this holy night. Even though the Wise men didn’t actually visit Jesus in person until He was a toddler, I included them in this painting because they are a huge part of the Christmas story and an amazing example of faith and diligence. In this painting, everyone gets as close to sweet baby Jesus as they can. All of the sheep surrounding Mary look up to Him, the angels hug and rejoice, His parents cuddle Him closely. This painting captures what I want to do in my life. I want to make Him the center of my life. I want to always be looking to Him, just like the little sheep do. I want Him to be my everything. I want to drop everything to run to Him. Every person and character in the nativity story is someone to admire. All of them exude faith and commitment in their own way, which is one of the reasons this story is so beautiful. I am so grateful for this time of year where we can celebrate the miraculous birth of our Savior. I look at this painting and hear the hymn lyrics ‘Joy to the world, the Lord is come!’