My dog and I were out taking our usual walk through the neighborhood when I noticed it. A large picture of Jesus laughing while He is holding the devil in a choke hold displayed on a neighbor's front porch. I have never seen anything like it. I couldn't help staring, it just drew me in. "I would love to know the story behind that picture," I thought to myself. Day after day, I would only pass by and wonder, until the day I saw a sign that said "Garage Sale."
"Hello," I said as my daughter and I walked towards the garage.
"Oh, we were just about to close up for the day," a very pleasant woman said. "But you can go ahead and look if you want."
Briefly, we looked around before I asked, "I couldn't help but notice the large picture of Jesus on your front porch, could I ask you about it?"
Just then a car pulled into the driveway. The woman smiled. "That's my husband pulling up. He's the one who painted it!"
I ended up having a wonderful conversation with this couple. The husband told me that while he was out walking his two dogs, he was given this vision and he painted it himself. "Wow, that's amazing!" I said. "What does the picture mean to you?"
The gentleman told me that it demonstrated that "Jesus has defeated the devil. We all need to remember that."
His wife said, "Some people have told us they don't believe in the devil. And I tell them that's their choice not to believe, but that doesn't change the truth."
We continued to talk for a good fifteen minutes about faith, and he revealed that he has been a minister for the past 30 years. I asked if I could take a picture of the painting for my blog and he smiled and said, "Go ahead." He told me that he gets a kick out of watching cars pull up in front of the house and take pictures.
As I walked back home, I thought about how amazing God is and how He uniquely inspires each of us. We all need to share our stories and experiences of God. We need to add God to more of our conversations we have with each other. We need to remember that God is always in our midst--even when we are out walking our dogs.
-Susan
