I knew before I picked up my brush that I wanted to make a piece inspired by Matthew 6:25-34 – a lesson in the Bible where Jesus speaks on the topic of anxiety. It’s one that I find encouraging whenever I begin fixating on day-to-day stresses or worries.

In the passage, Jesus uses analogies from nature to make clear to us how much God loves and cares for us - and how His love can cover our worry. He points to the birds first. He reminds us that they don’t plan ahead for their meals or store up their food, and yet God provides every meal for them, every day. Then he asks “why do you worry about clothes?” and says “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” And if God clothes the flowers, which are alive one day and withered the next, how much more will he clothe and care for his children?

I love this verse because it reminds me to relax. Even on my most stressful days, I can remember that God is in control of my life. Because He takes care of me, day by day, I don’t need to fear.

This passage in Matthew ends with a line that says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”

I love that line. What a breath of fresh air.

When I painted this piece I wanted to communicate, through loose marks and negative spaces, that it’s okay to release control and relax. To let tomorrow worry about itself. The green strokes are intended to emulate the long grass of a field, and the cream tones with pops of orange represent lilies.