Here I am Lord and I'm drowning
In your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where you found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight

I know you've cast my sins as far
As the East is from the West
And I stand before you now
As though I've never sinned but today
I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way

Jesus can you show me
Just how far the East is from the West
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other (end of lyrics)

He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.

Psalm 103:12 (New Living Translation Bible)

And compassion is on its way to us.
You'll stamp out our wrongdoing.
You'll sink our sins
to the bottom of the ocean.

Micah 7:19 (The Message Bible)

This piece portrays my life before accepting Jesus Christ’s love and forgiveness. I was a mess at one point in my life. I tried to fix all of my problems myself, through anger, controlling behavior, you name it, I probably tried it. At one point in my life, when everything seemed to be crashing down on me and I couldn’t see any way out, I even resorted to checking out a little witchcraft and turning my back on God. Instead of my problems going away, they only seemed to get worse (and my family suffered along with me). My soul was in a constant state of confusion and torment. God stood behind me all the while waiting for me with out stretched arms of forgiveness. Approximately one year later when everything came to a climax, I cried out for forgiveness from my God. I instantly felt a relief wash over me and knew that God had instantly forgiven me. Since that time, although life has it challenges, I’ve been much more at peace with both myself and those things I cannot change. I trust that God has it all together and everything will work for the best and to His glory. The above lyrics are from a song called East to West and are from a wonderful band called Casting Crowns. If they have touched you, you may read the remaining verses here [link] . If you would like to hear the song along with others they’ve written, check out their MySpace page here [link] (right click and choose new window). Thank you for viewing my creation and may God bless you.

Mike

* Special thanks go to two wonderful artists for allowing me to work with their creations: Immortelle: [link] and littlem0: [link]

Note: I resized my demensions to an actual 18 inches wide by 24 inches high and added a 3 inch border.