Take Courage Tshirt

Here’s the story behind my NEW SHIRT

As most of you know this year has been a very unexpected year for our family. Leading up to the new year I was looking back at all the art I had created in 2024—the verses God led me to paint, the speaking opportunities I stepped into, along with some worship art I painted live at various events. This ministry God had given me was exploding and I had never been busier. I had no idea what was around the corner… we never do, do we?

Early in January we discovered our oldest son Noah had a tumor. We learned it was a rare and aggressive bone cancer. Within days of finding out this news he began chemo and in April he lost his left leg. We believe his cancer is gone, but protocol has us completing his prescribed treatment. We are still in the fight, but the end of chemo will wrap up in about a month (if all goes as planned. We are praising the Lord for this!) God has been near our broken hearts. He has carried us when we couldn’t put one more foot in front of the other. We have been determined: God will get the glory in our story (He already has) and even in the midst of tears and confusion and begging God to “take this cup from us”—He reminds me that His ways are higher and His thoughts are higher and I can trust Him. He’s got us.

So back to this shirt… Right after receiving Noah’s diagnosis God spoke to me using Psalm 27—it came at me from three different directions. The first being from my son Zachariah. The Lord used it to encourage his heart while he was at FCA. The student leader was encouraging the high schoolers with this passage. Zach said, “Mom, the last part of the chapter almost jumped off the page to me”:

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)

The next morning as I was begging God to heal Noah, I felt the Lord bring me back to this portion of the Scripture. The still small voice of God spoke to my spirit, “Heather, I will do a miraculous work but you have to WAIT.” That was all I needed! Okay, God is going to do something beyond us… miraculous… I just have to be patient. (Not my strong suit, but I’ve got history with God. If He says it, He will do it!) A few hours later I was cleaning up after breakfast, our family had been staying at the Ronald McDonald House during Noah’s treatment but we were getting ready to head home for the first time after finding out about Noah’s diagnosis. One of the volunteers that morning was a young lady, she was sweeping the floors and we had a very short conversation. She asked if I was having a good day and I told her that it was complicated. I shared, “It’s good because we are actually going home today. We haven’t been home for a month. But the reality is we will be back quite often.” She nodded and gave me a soft smile. I grabbed my coffee and said, “Have a good day.” She responded, “Take Courage.” It took me by surprise. Take courage?!? Who says that? I’ve NEVER had anyone say that to me… ever. I have no doubt in my mind that the Lord prompted her to say that to me. That verse… ”Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart TAKE COURAGE…” It has stayed with me all these eight months.

TAKE COURAGE. You don’t have to MAKE it you just have to TAKE IT! I don’t have to muster up my own, I don’t have the muster in me and He knows that, He simply says I can take courage from Him… because He’s enough, He’s working, He’s doing the doing, He’s making the way when there is no way… because He IS the Way!

I wanted a shirt to remind me that my God is making good on His promise to me: I will see my miracle-working God in action, but I have to wait. (And no doubt, we have seen miracles all along the way. But I believe there’s more.) And as I wait, I will TAKE COURAGE. Maybe YOU need the reminder too that God is working behind the scenes in your life. Maybe you are waiting. Maybe as you wait you need this reminder too, TAKE COURAGE, don’t lose heart, don’t let your mind spiral or give way to fear. REST IN HIS ARMS. And at just the right moment, you will spread your wings, knowing He’s got you. You might not know how He’s going to make a way, and it’s almost always different than what you have conjured up in your mind, but let Him lead and guide you come what may. So from one Christ-follower to another:

TAKE COURAGE as you TAKE FLIGHT.

“But they that WAIT upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

I believe, with every fiber of my being, that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

TAKE COURAGE AND WAIT FOR IT…