As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for You, O God. (Psalm 42:1)

Daniel and I have had a relationship full of what we’ve come to call “God winks”—signs, unprecedented experiences that could only be explained by God Himself. One of my favorite God winks is from the weekend Daniel and I exchanged phone numbers. I saw three pairs of birds at my feeder in the span of an hour and then another pair later that day at my mother’s house. Our second God wink took place a couple of months later. We were both feeling the weight of the world that day, and both of us longed for the presence of God. Minutes after Daniel made it to my home, we saw four pairs of birds at my feeder all at once. I don’t see pairs of birds very often. In fact, I don’t ever recall seeing any except for those two specific days.

“As the Deer Pants” is inspired by a moment, a core memory from the day I said yes. I wondered if God was going to make Himself manifest; though completely content in that moment, I silently longed for our Father to show us He was there too. I’m sure I may have glanced up at the trees a time or two expectant to see a pair of birds somewhere in the branches. Moments after Daniel received my yes, something happened I’ll never forget. Both of us set our eyes on a family of deer just yards away from us—a pair of baby deer being led by their mother. As many times as I’ve visited that very location, never had I seen deer before or any animals at all. It was almost as if God was asking His two children not to forget Him, to keep longing for Him even though we now have one another.

If there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s this—when you truly long for the presence of God, He will meet you there every time, though perhaps not always how we may expect it. This painting will serve as a reminder to hold on to that longing for the Father and to never stop listening for His ever present voice.

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The deer pants

for flowing streams;

my soul longs

for something, it seems.

.

Something eternal,

something true;

living water,

streams of blue.

.

Though together united

my dear and I,

when we neglect our Father,

our hearts still cry.

.

We must follow the Lord

and put Him first.

Without His presence,

our souls will thirst.

.

We strive and we struggle;

our minds drift away.

Though often distracted,

we continue to pray.

.

We pray for His presence;

we pray for our love;

we pray to never stop longing

for our Father above.

.

It’s the longing that keeps

our eyes open wide,

our ears inclined

to His voice inside.

.

It’s the longing that leads us

to waters so blue.

A beautiful truth—

He longs for us too.