But the heart has other feelings. Hearts break, hearts weep, and hearts cry out for help. Hearts cling to the warm, fuzzy feelings of love, but they also hold on to profound loss, sadness, fear, and doubt. If we’re expecting our lives to look like the perfect Hallmark movie, the odds of that happening aren’t always in our favor.   

I’m certainly not suggesting that this adorable little paintbrush can wash away our sins — but if you look closely, there is an analogy to be found. Isn’t this how God restores our hearts to align with His? Picture Jesus standing before you, looking at your life. With His paintbrush in hand, He paints over your sins. But, not only does the paint cover your sins — His supernatural paint erases them for good.

About halfway through Mom’s time at the care center, her sister fell and broke her hip while taking a walk in her Dallas, Texas, neighborhood. My aunt never had any children, and my uncle was deceased, so I volunteered to be her family support. While I lived with my family in Arizona and my mom was just about twelve miles from me, it was clear that many flights to Dallas were in my future.