Several painter friends and I met inside the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, in Augusta, and searched for something to paint for a couple of hours on a cold, March day. The Sacred Heart Building, a former Catholic Church, was in disrepair for years when Pete Knox decided to restore and reopen the beautiful building. Today it is used for weddings, concerts, parties, and a variety of art events. Yet, the architecture, the stained glass, the sculptures and ornamental details are still rich with Christian history.
In the quiet, hollow cathedral, I walked around looking at light and shadow, colors and lines, repetition of shapes and tried to find a focus . . . and then I saw it . . . the face of Jesus carrying his cross. It was on one of the “Stations of the Cross” relief sculptures that line both sides of the building. I saw what I needed and pulled out paint to begin.
As I painted, a hymn tune began to play in my head:
“Man of sorrows what a name
for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!”
(and the song kept going over and over for another hour while I painted, know what I mean?)
Yet, as I painted the face of Christ, I saw pain, sorrow, rejection and exhaustion. 
And I hummed to myself, “man of sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who came…”
I remembered his love and marveled at his endurance. I noticed the figures around him in the sculpture, some helping him carry the heavy cross, some mocking him and some perhaps begging him for one last miracle.
I worshipped through paint as I studied the face of Jesus and sang in my soul, “Hallelujah, what a Savior!”
This Lenten season is a good time to look on the face of Jesus, listen to His Spirit and remember.