Rescued

This is a self-portrait. If a picture is worth a thousand words, well, this is my testimony. Jesus met me where I was, and He has never left me or... more

by Julie Shematz

Title

Rescued

Artist

Julie Shematz

Medium

Painting - Oil On Canvas

Description

This is a self-portrait. If a picture is worth a thousand words, well, this is my testimony. Jesus met me where I was, and He has never left me or forsaken me and has loved me unconditionally.

I purposefully chose to make the dress and boots purple (the color of royalty) because when we surrender our will to Him, we become royalty. She's holding a hammer in one hand and a nail in the other, representing my sin that nailed him to the cross.

I was so tired, broken, and wounded, just trying to make ends meet when I finally surrendered my life to His Lordship. It came after living homeless, traveling across the United States for 9 months following large sporting events. I would acquire employment in a strip club and work enough to secure me a hotel and food for as many days as possible. There, I would read the Bible, crying out to God to rescue me. When I ran out of money, I returned to working. This continued until October 4th, 2002, when I had a vision of God grieving over me for submitting myself to what would happen in the clubs.

I then fell in love with God and determined not to cause Him anymore grief if I could help it. I made the decision that night to surrender my life to Him. To trust and obey Him. I knew that faith comes by hearing, so I chose to immerse myself in the Bible and His truth. It was the beginning of Him making countless ways where there seemed to be none for me. He transformed my life and has blessed me exceedingly, abundantly, above, and beyond what I ever could have imagined, dreamed or asked for.

The image was used for the nonprofit, public charity I started within a month after that night of rededicating my life. The charity, Beauty From Ashes™ Ministries, began by doing outREACHes in strip clubs with the mission to PREVENT, REACH, and RESTORE victims of sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. All of the proceeds from my artwork goes to support its FREE of CHARGE services: Counseling, Mentoring, Retreats, Training and Consulting. Having served over 6000 persons and completely volunteer driven, the impact of our training curriculum has been world wide.

Uploaded

June 9th, 2019