Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

You can hear it from afar - the sound of the waves breaking on the beach. For me, it's one of the most beautiful moments when you're standing on the beach, your feet in the wet sand and being lapped by the water. Your gaze wanders over the endless horizon. Sometimes I watch the waves and follow their path until they break on the beach and disappear forever. These are moments of pure happiness that I am unfortunately rarely granted as a landlubber.

The scene with the sea of sorrows is special for me. Somehow it's my favorite scene in the whole picture.

The reason for this is perhaps because Jesus and the sea are the two greatest loves in my life. Here in this scene, both are united. So what could be better... 🙂 (Maybe a sailing ship is still missing...).

In the meantime, a few others have also told me that they particularly like this scene.

Somehow it also stands out from all the others. This is probably due to the colors. The rest of the picture is more in shades of green and brown. That makes the blue sea look a bit out of place. But I think the variety does the picture a lot of good.

What I am also very grateful for in this scene is the depiction of Jesus. I find it difficult to paint people. I also find it difficult to paint clothes. But here in this scene, I'm very happy with the result.

I love the sea and water, but it's a struggle to paint every picture. I also struggled with the waves in this painting. One thing I've never managed to achieve satisfactorily is the transition from the water to the beach. I watched a few YouTube tutorials for this scene too. I only had to paint over and redo the beach once until I was happy with the result. (Sometimes I paint over unsuccessful areas much more often. For example, I must have repainted the forest of fear three times).

Let us now turn to history:

Worry after worry

The hiker has left the source of life refreshed and strengthened. His bags of provisions are well filled. He continues on his way in good spirits. But suddenly he stops. His path seems to end at the beach. When he takes a closer look, he realizes that the path leads through the sea.

How was he supposed to get through safely? How far is it to the other shore? Could he swim that far? What would happen if the big waves rolled over him or the current swept him away? All his provisions would get wet in the water and become inedible. Worry after worry overtakes him.

The hiker stands by the water for a while, pondering. He watches the mighty waves breaking on the beach. As he stands there looking for a solution, he sees a white figure on the water. The hiker is startled. Who or what is that?

He tries to take a closer look. The creature is wearing a white hood. From a distance, it looks like a ghost. The hairs on the back of the hiker's neck stand up. It quickly gets closer. The hiker sees that it is walking on the waves. He had never seen anything like it before!

He stands there rooted to the spot, watching the creature coming straight towards him.

Then he is addressed: „Do not be afraid!“ How familiar this melodious, gentle and yet all-pervading voice was to the wanderer! He falls to the ground as if dead. It is the Creator of the universe himself who meets him here!

A hand gently touches the walker's shoulder. When he looks up, he looks directly into the friendly eyes of his master. With a smile, Jesus asks: „Do you fancy a little adventure with me?“ Stunned beyond words, the wanderer nods. He cannot take his eyes off Jesus. He was here, here with him, the most unworthy of all pilgrims! And he invites HIM to go on an adventure with him. The wanderer stands up, strengthened with new energy.

Jesus points with an outstretched arm to the sea with its high waves. „Your path leads through this sea. Today it is a little stormier than usual. The waves are your worries. They can be very dangerous and drag you down into the depths. But don't worry! I am by your side and want to guide you safely to the other side of the sea. You saw how I walked on the water. You can do it too! I want to give you the strength to do it. You can walk on your worries. But you can only succeed if your eyes are firmly fixed on me. I will lead the way and guide you. You just follow me. But be careful! Don't look at the waves! As soon as you take your eyes off me and look at the waves, you will sink! As long as you keep your eyes on me, it will be a normal walk. Are you ready?“

Walking on the water

Jesus smiles encouragingly at the walker and takes a few steps out to sea. Jesus stands calmly and serenely on the water, as if he were standing on solid ground. The waves do not sweep him into the depths. The walker's heart is pounding in his throat. He sees the mighty waves, but they cannot harm Jesus. He sees how relaxed Jesus is standing on the water. Jesus looks as strong as a rock in the surf. With his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, but with a pounding heart, the wanderer enters the sea. But instead of sinking into the soft sand, the water withstands his weight!

It feels as if he is walking on solid ground. Well, it rocks a little, but the water doesn't let him sink in. The first few steps are still very unsteady and wobbly. It takes all the hiker's strength not to look down at the water, but at Jesus. The temptation to concentrate on the waves was infinitely great. But as the hiker was very insecure, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. He smiled encouragingly at him. Was there a certain fatherly pride and joy in his eyes? It is the same paternal pride of a father when his child succeeds in taking the first steps on his wobbly legs.

Over time, the hiker gets used to the new surface. Their steps become a little more secure and faster. The two make good progress.

Pride comes before a fall

At some point, the hiker gets used to this new situation. Following behind Jesus, the two of them walk across the water as if they were hiking in the mountains. Slowly he realizes what is happening! He is walking on the water! He is with Jesus! If only his friends could see him now! They had certainly never seen anything like this before! They would certainly be amazed if they could see him like this!

While the wanderer is still thinking about how he could tell this story in the most dazzling colors, his gaze slowly wanders away from Jesus to the water. Full of pride, he sees himself walking steadily on the water. But then he looks around. Suddenly he realizes that he is surrounded only by raging water. He can see nothing but water and waves. No matter which way he looks, he can't see any land. He is trapped in the middle of a deadly desert of water!

The hiker is gripped by naked panic. What had he been thinking? How could he have imagined he was ready for this challenge? The current could easily pull him into the depths. He sees no way out of his situation. Solid land could otherwise be so far away. He looks at the choppy sea and the mighty waves rolling towards him. It is surrounded by huge masses of water. How could he, a small, weak man, stand up to them? They would surely drag him into the depths and drown him.

Before he could even finish this thought, he felt it become reality. Suddenly he feels his trousers soaking up water. Before he knows it, he is up to his waist in water and sinking further and further! The waves seem even more threatening from this perspective. They were about to crash over him and then it would be over! The hiker begins to swim desperately. He tries with all his strength to stay above the water. But the sea becomes more and more turbulent. Foaming waves crash over him. The hiker is pushed under water more and more often. It takes all his strength to fight his way back up again and again.

The waves toss him back and forth. He is helplessly at the mercy of the forces of the water. The hiker tries to fight the waves for a long time. But his strength is visibly dwindling. Soon he has to give up the fight and sink to the bottom of the sea.

Was there no help at all?

Where was Jesus all this time? Had he simply abandoned him? Had he led him out of here to let him die miserably? No, that couldn't be! He remembered Jesus' loving, warm-hearted smile. There had been no trace of evil ulterior motives. He could only recognize pure love and tender compassion in Jesus.

But why did Jesus abandon him? Now, when he needed him most? The wanderer looks around. All he could see were the roaring waves around him. There was no sign of Jesus for miles around. Despair grips him. How could he take his eyes off Jesus for just a moment? And hadn't Jesus even warned him not to look at the waves? How foolish he had been! He was proud of his „achievement“. He could walk on water! If he had told his friends, they would have been jealous of his adventure. He would have looked good in front of them.

But only now does the wanderer begin to realize that Jesus had warned him about this very thing. Those who turn their gaze away from Jesus rely on their own strength. You are proud of something that you could only achieve with God's help. But this directs your gaze away from Jesus and onto yourself. If you look at yourself, the next thing you do is look at your worries and problems. You realize how helpless you actually are. Suddenly your worries and problems seem like insurmountable obstacles. They crash over you like huge waves and want to drown you.

The wanderer realizes that only Jesus can save him from this situation. Until now, Jesus had never abandoned him to his helpless fate. He was sure that he would not let him perish now either! This was the only hope he could cling to.

The roar of the waves is loud. But the hiker gathers the last of his strength and calls out with the last of his strength: „Jesus, save me!“

Find out what happens next here! 🙂