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I am so excited to offer those who visit my site the opportunity to read testimonies, teachings, or learn of amazing and inspiring experiences that God has done in the lives of other women of faith. 

Today Shelsea Holubec will share with us how God used a brush, paint, and a canvas to set her soul free! 

He will do the same for you, if you just ask Him to.


MY YOKE

I looked at this blank canvas not knowing what to do or where to begin.  Then I heard a small voice say, “Start with the Cross”.  I replied with an annoyed tone “Lord, everybody paints a cross”.  That is all I kept hearing, so that is where I began.  I do not know why I struggle with what the Lord tells me to do because it is ALWAYS for my best.  Sure enough, this was too!  So, I began with the cross.  Many times, I have to remind myself to go back to the cross.  

The cross was about 2’ long and about 18”wide when I heard that small voice again, “Is that how big you think I am?”  ”No," I replied.  I then proceeded to enlarge it.  I was using browns, blacks, and grays and had the edges all squared, nice and neat. 

Feeling proud of the job I was doing, I then heard “Don’t square me off.  You cannot put me in a box.  Don’t you know that there are no limits to who I am or what I can do?”  “Okay, Okay."  Now I am totally doing away with my perfectly straight edges and while I am painting an endless horizontal beam I hear, “Do you know that my arms stretch out wider than that-as far as the east is from the west?” 

At this moment, my heart is now in my throat and tears are starting to well up.  Part of me wants to run because I realize why He had me start with the cross.  TRUST.  Can I truly trust God?  I cannot trust anyone else.  Do I really believe that God is who His word says He is?  I surpass the desire to bolt and keep painting.  When I go to paint the endless vertical beam, He spoke another scripture to me. “Don’t you know I can do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine?”  

Funny…God questioning me so intently, as it is usually me doing all the questioning.  I answered the Lord with crocodile tears and with a heart that yearns to love Him, “I know Lord and I believe you are working all this out for my good.  I trust you.”

That was only part one in my lesson plan for the day.  God then began to deal with my pain.  Real pain, you know the kind that you hide from everybody, even yourself.  I then painted a crown of thorns hanging from the cross... so much symbolism.  Recognizing what Jesus died for…sin…I wonder if it could also be called pain?  So many thoughts began racing in my mind and my heavey heart was pounding. I began to pray and to pray aloud.

 

There was no one there so I was safe to say what I needed to.  I began to pray in the Spirit.  Now the tears are so heavy I cannot even see the canvas but I do not stop.  I then began to splatter red paint as representation of the sprinkling of the blood that the High Priest would do at the altar of sacrifice; something I would not realize until after the painting session.  I was now painting under the influence! At that point all the emotions I had been carrying; hurt, anger, betrayal, etc…came pouring out and I wrote each feeling down under each arm of the cross.

 

For the first time I came face to face with myself, the real me, the one who is hurting and does not want to any more.  God showed Himself to me in a miraculous way that night, showing me how to forgive the one who hurt me so deeply and then how to forgive myself.  He already had forgiven me; I just needed to receive it.  

As the peace came, I covered each word with the blood of Christ.  Now as I look back at the painting a year later, I see so much torment in each brush stroke.  I see that I was carrying a heavy load that truly I was not able to carry.  The neat part is when all the words where covered up in red paint it created a big u shape under the cross.  Now I see a yoke.  The Lord traded me my yoke for His.  His is so much lighter!


PAINTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
PAINTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE


BIO

Shelsea was born in a small town in the panhandle of Texas back in 1975. She owes her Spiritual heritage to her grandmother whom she calls Yamma. Yamma is the backbone of the family. She distinctly remembers the moment she met Jesus; she was at Yamma’s house at either the age of 5 or 6. She was raised in the Methodist Church and attended Sunday School and Youth functions growing up. 

It was not untill the age of 21 that Shelsea realized that there is a difference in knowing Jesus and having a walking and talking relationship with Jesus. She instinctively knew there was more, but had not gained the head knowledge. Since that time of revelation she has fallen in love with Him. Through the trials she has faced she now bases her faith, not on blind faith, but on a tangible faith. 

Shelsea has buried her first born, saw her next child through arethmeia, gave birth to her third child 7 weeks early due to pre-eclampsia that went into toxcemia, into HELLP. By God’s delieverance she is no longer in an abusive marriage and is now a single mom raising two beautiful children ages 6 and 4; clinging to the verse that God’s mercies are new every morning!


Shelsea has served the Lord in many capacities. She has taught two year olds in Sunday School, was the Clown for Kid’s Church, puppet leader, on the Women’s Ministry Team, in leadership postions with MOPS (mother’s of Preschoolers), taught at a Women’s Retreat, spoke at a Mini Ladies Conference, was Gala director for a Crisis Pregnancy Center, was the stage decorator for Tammy Trent, and she is also a certified Praise Move Instructor (the Christian Alternative to Yoga). 

Shelsea is a dancer at heart and loves to act. She has starred in the local theater and helped behind and in front of the camera for short films. Shelsea also has competed in the Mrs. Texas International Pageant 2007. Shelsea has an Associates of Applied Arts degree in Interior Design and now is a visual merchandiser for a local clothing and home décor boutique.