Sing it With Me . . .

I was looking forward to today . . . and also dreading it too.

Today I’m opening my Etsy Shop, yay! It’s also the anniversary of my husband’s death. Before you think that it was sheer coincidence that I’d open an Etsy shop on the same day Marlon died, it isn’t. It’s completely intentional, even though I knew today might be emotional for me.

You see, there’s this whole “thing” that happened when he died. I don’t know what else to call it. Some might call it a “miracle”, and I wouldn’t argue with them.

Anyway, I wrote a big long post about it two weeks after he passed – and while I’m usually wordy, I’m even more so when I’m emotional – but let me try to explain it here in a nutshell. (I said “try”.)

My husband was incredibly superstitious. No kidding. I could write a book on all of his do’s and don’ts. Anyone who knew him, knew about his little . . . quirks. Anyway, he died the Monday after Mother’s Day at 5:14 a.m. I was lying in bed, still in shock, barely able to process the weekend’s tragic events. I remember thinking how glad I was that he didn’t pass on Mother’s Day. Just weird little thoughts. Then I fought through the emotional fog to recall the date . . . May 14 . . . as if that would be significant at some point. For some reason I replayed in my mind what had happened at the hospital, and the nurse telling the doc that Marlon flatlined at 5:14 a.m. That’s when it hit me.

The fog cleared as I realized he had passed at 5:14 a.m. on 5/14/12. Now, I realize for most people this wouldn’t be a big deal. But for Marlon? Oh, it was a sign as sure as I’m sitting here. But now what? Whether or not he was communicating as he passed over, now what?

The ‘miracle’ part happened two weeks later when some wonderful reader noted the significance of 5:14 and the Gospel of St. Matthew on one of my posts about Marlon. I don’t know Scripture that well but I do know “don’t hide your light under a bushel” from the rock musical Godspell of the 70’s fame.

I still get tingles, just thinking about it now. Because Marlon was forever telling me to ‘get my work out there’, or in essence, “shine my light”.

The whole 5:14-5/14 ‘miracle’ got me through some really rough patches – both grieving for him as well as with my work and wondering what I was going to do with my life without him. However, as time passed, like a lot of things, it got pushed to the back of my mind.

Writing a post, however, about opening an Etsy shop and the anniversary of my husband’s death proved . . . well . . . harder than I had anticipated. I sat down and started writing but my emotions were too thick and heavy – not at all what I wanted this post to be. Rather than writing the post last night so it would be ready to go first thing this morning, I decided to sleep on it and see if the words would come. Words did come, but not for the post.

As I was getting ready this morning, doing mindless stuff, the lyrics to a song I haven’t heard since childhood started quietly in my head –

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

Without even trying, a smile crossed my lips. My mood lightened. My spirit lifted.

I’m gonna let my little light shine.

It still might seem odd to some to write a post celebrating both the opening of my Etsy shop and the anniversary of my husband’s passing, but to me it just fits. It’s almost as if he’s still with my, by my side, encouraging me all the way.

Thank, Hon.

So . . . after all of that . . . I want to talk about my Etsy shop! First, everything in the shop is a digital download – meaning, buyers get a digital file to print off my paintings and drawings. Or they could also save the file to their computer to create something, like a shirt or greeting card or whatever they want.

There are a couple of reasons I made everything a download – 1) it keeps the prices affordable, which is very, very important to me. I want anyone who likes my artwork to be able to have it, without having to invest in an expensive print. 2) I want people to get creative with my images and make stuff. With downloads, they can use them for their websites or party invitations or whatever they choose. I love that!

Even though every item is a download there are two different types – one that you print off to either frame or print on a notecard, the other will be more like clip art and can be used for more applications because the backgrounds will be transparent. (Those also take more time to edit, which is why there aren’t any in the shop today, but there will be soon!)

So! I’ll be going thru all of my paintings that are stacked in a pile, seeing if any or all will ‘make the cut’, as well as painting and drawing new stuff. Of course, I’ll continue sharing paint projects here on the blog because, goodness knows, my house needs a lot of stuff done.

But I do hope you’ll take a minute to pop over to the shop soon. I’ll try to share here as I put new items in too. I hope you’re an email subscriber to Just Paint It because subscribers will be getting special discounts and freebies from time to time.

Now . . . I want you to think about something for a minute . . . have YOU been letting your light shine? Oh, it doesn’t have to be a product or work-related at all. Just . . . your light. Whatever that means to you. Do you hide it, like I have been? If so, I want you to sing it with me –

This little light of mine
I’m gonna let it shine . . . 

xoxo

Colleen

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