Art Spotlight: “Red Dirt Path & Golden Field”

There’s something about the red dirt ~ the way it holds the weight of footsteps and still manages to cradle life at its edges. When I created this piece, I was thinking of those long Australian tracks that wind through country fields of Western Australia, where the air is thick with the scent of dust and sun-warmed land. It’s never a straight road, but one that bends and disappears, as if asking us to walk by faith, not by sight.

At first glance, the path seems barren, just earth and shadow but then the yellow wildflowers appear, scattered like quiet gifts. They’re the kind that spring up without permission, resilient and unplanned, finding their place in the cracks of life. I’ve often found that grace works the same way ~ quietly, persistently, blooming right where I thought nothing good could grow.

As I look back over my own path ~ the one I’ve walked through healing and heartache, I see how many of those wildflowers were planted by unseen hands. The kind words that came when I needed them. The courage to keep going when the road felt too long. The peace that arrived without reason, like a soft wind through the paddocks.

I am once again reminded of yesterday’s scripture and the Psalmist writing, “the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” I used to think those pleasant places were destinations ~ the moments when everything finally made sense. But I’m beginning to see they are also found along the way in the pauses, in the turns, in the ordinary red dirt beneath our feet.

So here’s my quiet prayer for you, and for me too with a painting that whispers:

May we keep walking these winding roads with open hearts.

May we trust the path, even when it curves out of sight.

And may we always notice the small wildflowers ~ the mercies scattered along the way ~ that remind us grace is still here, still giving, still enough.

xox