Because He Lives
The figures in this painting were drawn from people I love—my own children serving as models as I worked to bring these sacred moments to life.
While painting, I often find that it is in the smallest details—a glimmer in an eye, the turn of a hand, the light across a foot—that a figure begins to feel alive.
On Easter Sunday, I had the opportunity to share this painting and speak about the process behind its creation. I had a lot of time to reflect on that tender moment when the risen Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene—not first to a ruler or even to one of His Apostles, but to a devoted follower who loved Him and sought Him.
For me, there is something deeply hopeful in that moment: an invitation to each of us to seek Him and recognize that He is so near.
There is something so tender to me about this moment.
Mary came to the tomb carrying grief. She did not yet understand what had happened or recognize the Savior standing before her.
And then He spoke her name.
“Mary.”
One word, and she knew Him.
I love the reminder that the risen Christ is not distant. He knows us personally. He knows our names. He meets us in our grief, our confusion, and the moments when we cannot yet see what He is doing.
Because He lives, there is hope beyond every dark morning.