My Glory is in You
Acrylic on canvas. 18"x24". Completed in 2026.
Meaning
This painting was done during Gateway’s 2026 Advance conference, the theme of which was consecration—how we are consecrated in Christ and consecrated for glory. It depicts a wedding bouquet. Coincidentally, on Saturday night, Pastor Landen shared about how the consecration we have in our covenant with Christ is similar to the consecration we have in our covenant with our spouse.
I love flowers. They are often my go to subject when doodling. But I haven’t done a lot of paintings of flowers; in fact, I didn’t really allow myself to do a lot of flowers because I felt they were too feminine. I had believed a lie—that I had to be less feminine in to be taken seriously.[1] But throughout the work on this painting, I feel the Lord has been stripping that lie away—revealing how His glory uniquely shines through me.
In covenant, I am still uniquely me. I do not lose my identity in my marriage with my husband and he doesn’t lose his. We are each individuals but joined by a covenant union that makes us one. Our covenant with God is the same. Sometimes we forget that the end goal of the cross wasn’t just forgiveness of sins. The end goal was being one with God—being filled with God Himself! He intended for His glory to be revealed in my unique personality, my character, my disposition, and my femininity.
There’s a second layer to the meaning of this painting. There is something unique about this wedding bouquet. Typically, the bride prepares herself for her groom, and that includes choosing her bouquet. But in this painting, I feel that Jesus is giving us the flowers. Jesus prepares His bride!
To consecrate means to set apart as sacred. But that is not something we do ourselves. That is Jesus’ job. It is in Him that we have forgiveness of sins, in Him we are new creations,[2] in Him we are sanctified, justified and glorified.[3] Jesus prayed, “I have given them the glory that you have gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.”[4] This is the beauty of the New Covenant we live in: God’s glory revealed in our unity with Him.
[1] I’m not totally sure where that lie came from, but I do suspect it was influenced by modern design ideals. The art and design industry tends to be male dominated and favours minimalism. Floral and natural designs became outdated, cliché, or busy. However, before the era of abstractism and the mid-century modern idea of “less is more,” many male artists and architects were doing florals.
[2] 2 Corinthians 5:17
[3] Romans 8:30
[4] John 17:22-23 (NIV).
Story
This painting was liberating! Like I mentioned above, I struggled to allow myself to use flowers in my main body of work. For some reason, I didn't feel like they—and thus, me—would be taken seriously. But the Lord used the process for this piece to break down that lie, so I could be more freely me.
He had me start the background in a style similar to my very early works. Then He had me do the mid-ground in the watery, drippy style of my current works. Then He had me do something entirely new, but also something I had wanted to try—He had me use a palette knife to build up the bouquet. In this process, I saw my growth over the years. I saw my beginning, present, and my future. I feel like there is something new coming to my art. In fact, during the conference, I received a prophecy that a new chapter was coming to my art. And every time I would close my eyes during the services, I would see new flowers on new paintings. Something new is coming.
I'm not totally sure what it looks like yet, and as of writing this, I'm not finished His Name is a Melody (one and a half more paintings to go!). I need to finish that series strong before I start what's next. I'm ok with that. I often find myself growing tired of the current thing when I know a new thing is coming. But I'm determined to finish His Name with excellence before I move on. It will be interesting to see where the Lord takes me next.