Permission to swallow

Permission to swallow

by Joel Howard

"Permission", mixed media sketch by Joel Howard, 4"x6" on acid free paper

I was sitting in church yesterday when I received a vision. In the vision I was being held in the arms of the Father or of Jesus and he was giving me a cup to drink. He was weeping over me as the Father would have wept for joy upon the return of the prodigal son.  In the picture I was weary and sitting and the Father, in between sobs, was whispering to me, "I love you, son."  As I prayed about the picture I knew that this cup was the cup of His will for my life, as discussed in Henri Nouwen's Can You Drink the Cup? (Ave Maria Press, 1996) and Mark 10:38-39: "The cup that I drink you will drink..." (ESV). In the picture the Father and Jesus were giving me permission to swallow and to drink the cup he has laid out for my life.