When I Paint I feel His Pleasure

Here we are again, another story. We can’t believe that we are almost done with this year. Savor these stories, because they have been so amazing and we are finally releasing our second to last. This next story will really pull at your heart strings for many reasons. It was a joy to interview this woman because her message radiates the Gospel as well as her talents. I only wish you all could be there with us during these conversations but our informal writing will just have to due for now. So here it is, our eleventh Her Story…

Her name is Elizabeth Polland.

Emily and I met Elizabeth over at Mt. Laurel, which was the perfect scene for this artsy mom. As the leaves are changing, Mt. Laurel becomes the fall dream that we all hope to see with this Alabama weather. It was the perfect backdrop to hear her story as well as look at her amazing art. You will learn more about that later. As we always start these stories off, we wanted you to know a little bit about Elizabeth. The fun part of her story is that she had a specific message that she wanted to let the world know, which is about her. She stated, “Your whole life is your testimony and you have to tell people about it. Really what is the most important thing to me is my relationship with Christ and how that came about. My life changed in 2007. I was saved, thinking I was a Christian. I went to church and all that but I never had a relationship with Jesus. Some personal situations going on in my life during that time, lead me to having a conversation with my mom about real things. I watched her all my life, knowing that she kept a different outlook on life, that her relationship with the Lord looked different than mine and I didn’t really know what it was until she handed me a book, trying to get me through a hard time. It changed my life forever. It was just a book on scripture, a daily devotional. It really just completely changed my life, and I mean everything changed. I knew I was saved, I was on fire, and everything looked different in my life. From that moment on my life was forever changed. My mom was always my biggest encourager. In 2008, I decided to get baptized because I wanted everyone to know how my life had changed. My mom looked at me that day and said, ‘You are the strongest I’ve ever seen you…’ and twelve days later she died, out of the blue. But I knew she knew that I had what she had, and I knew where she was going. This was pivotal for me and the rest of my life. This lead me to get back to painting, my mom was always my cheerleader for that, and I knew it was what I needed to be doing. One of my favorite scriptures in Matthew 25:14-30, where it talks about the parable of the talents. What that is, is not just we have a bunch of talents and it’s just going to build us up. What I learned to realize is that we have been entrusted by God, and he has given us specific abilities to deliver for him. We are suppose to be working for Him, because it impacts the Kingdom. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is what I was created to do.”

Elizabeth goes on to share her journey as a believer and how her life has been transformed by the Gospel. She discussed with us how she uses her artwork to share the gospel with people. She puts scripture on the back of each of her paintings to plant seeds for people. She knows that she is here to spread the gospel with her talents. And boy is she talented. I am not the type of person to just give people compliments, but this women is so talented. I mean you can see in all of the pictures. And Elizabeth is so humble with her artwork, but this is my part in Her Story to brag on how talented she is. She talks about how she loves that her artwork tells the stories of the clients that ask her to paint things for them. She loves that aspect of her business. Of course, here at Her Story we are all about people embracing their stories, and Elizabeth loves that as well. She is able to create a masterpiece based on events in peoples’ lives to tell a part of their story. She is a storyteller.

I went on to ask Elizabeth more specifics about her artwork. I asked if she had a piece that she has created for her mom or that reminds her of her mom. She answered, “I call it daughter of the King, that’s not quoted in scripture but we are all daughters of the King. I did it for my sister-in law, for her daughter, the verse Proverbs 31:25. That verse is something that I tell my daughter, and I even remind myself in trail that I am a daughter of the King. That verse is the most meaningful to me and reminds me of where I am in my walk with him, and who am I. It reminds of my mom being my cheerleader. I also always go back to the nest painting as well because my mom loved birds. I just love my mom.” Elizabeth truly shows her love for her mom in her art. Her art really has a purpose, and we can all see it. Elizabeth discussed with us that her mom is not her only encourager but her husband and her children have been such great supporters of her work as well. She states, "My husband, Michael, is my level head, my partner and more, my friend. I am anxious to see what God has planned in our lives. He is a blessing to me and to those who meet him. For Michael, I am beyond thankful and my children are my inspiration and not a day goes by that I don't feel as though I am the most fortunate mother there ever was. Im so glad I get to be their mom! God has also blessed me with rich friendships that are a sounding board as I go along my journey."

We moved on to talk about some amazing advice Elizabeth could give you all and she has some wisdom to share. She first encourages those who are non believers that hopefully one day when you are struggling or in the darkest of dark days, for you all to be able to surrender it to Lord, because it’s a breath of fresh air. Elizabeth has been there and knows what it’s like to have that burden taken away from her. She reminds us that there is always Hope when it is dark. She encourages the believers to always remain faithful to the Lord, and know that this life is not about us. If you are faithful, He will always give you the answers you need. He always takes the load off of us. Elizabeth went on to discuss advice that she would give her younger self and she answered, “I would tell myself to wait… to wait and to make complete sure that I have heard from the Lord before making my decision. I would tell myself to not get ahead of myself. I would also encourage myself to not be so wrapped up in the moment. I tell my daughter all the time to not jeopardize her faith and your gut, to appease somebody else. We have all done things that we are not proud of, and yes the Lord is sovereign in those mistakes that we have made. But I would tell myself not to jeopardize that relationship to appease people.” Elizabeth discussed with us how she is not perfect, and has no problem admitting that she doesn’t have it all together, which is my favorite thing about people. I really loved Elizabeth’s humility and vulnerability.

As we always do, I asked Elizabeth to end our conversation to define beauty and if she finds herself beautiful. She explained, “Without a doubt, when you have confidence, people will take you seriously. When you believe in yourself, you automatically have credibility. Being bold, is all part of being confident. When we get over ourself, and step out on a limp, you will start to believe in yourself and gain that confidence. Confidence is what makes anyone beautiful. For myself, I see gray when I look at myself in the mirror, but I am confident in what God has called me to do. Sometimes I don’t know how to do those things, but I know what I am suppose to be doing. So I guess I see myself as beautiful. I mean, I have had better days but the older I get the more secure I get with myself. The older you get the more secure you get with yourself and there’s beauty in that.” Elizabeth is truly beautiful inside and out, as you can all see. She has such an amazing heart, and it shows in her beautiful artwork.

Elizabeth we can’t thank you enough for sitting down with us, and giving us a ton of wisdom to digest and some amazing art to look at. I can’t wait to get my hands on some of that artwork for my home. Also remember how loved you are my the Her Story crew, and we can’t wait to see all the amazing things that the Lord has planned for you.

As always, thanks you to my partner in crime, Emily Smith. This project wouldn’t be the same without her, because she brings the scene to life with such amazing pictures. It’s an honor to serve alongside you friend.

If you didn’t know already, we have an event coming up with Friday, Dec. 1st at the Christ City Center at 6:00PM. We are celebrating a year of Her Story with a lot of fun stuff. It’s not too late to decide to come. You can either buy tickets for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. This does include dinner. All proceeds from the evening will be going to benefit Grace House Ministries. If you need anymore details, please follow our instagram at herstorybham.

P.S. Elizabeth will be at the Mt. Laurel 3rd Annual Christmas Open House & Holiday Market on Saturday, Dec. 2nd from 9:00AM to 2:00PM. If you like all the pictures you see on Her Story, you should go check her out. Also you should follow her page on Facebook Elizabeth Polland Art to see all the amazing things this wonderful artist is up to.

We are thankful for all you readers out there, so keep reading and share with your friends. :)