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A Voice Told Her to Take Up Painting, and She Heeded the Call

Struggling with anxiety and insomnia during a turbulent time in her life—she was going through a difficult divorce while her father was terminally ill—Phnesha Marchette was given, for the sake of her health and well-being, a stern set of orders by her physican: She was to take a leave of absbence from her stressful job as a labor and employment attorney.

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Phnesha Marchette and her daughters, Gabby and Gigi

During her sabbatical, Phnesha spoke with God often, asking him to help her find joy and peace again. One day, while she relaxed on the beach, she heard a voice say, "You should paint."

At first she resisted. She had done nothing more artistically than doodle in her notebooks at school. But the voice was persistent, and Phnesha finally gave in one day, paying a visit to an arts and crafts store to ask for help in buying supplies. Over the next few weeks, she gave in to her new artistic impulses, finding peace in the creative process.

Here are three of Gabby and Gigi's paintings.

Phnesha's daughters, Gabby and Gigi, were very enthusiastic about their mother's new vocation and before long, the family was painting together, with Gabby and Gigi showing much the same facility and inspiration that their mother's paintings exhibited.

Phnesha Marchette with her daughters Gabby and Gigi

Before long, the house was so filled with completed canvasses that Phnesha felt overwhelmed by the question of what to do with them all. One day, while returning to her car after visiting a cafe, she heard the voice again as she passed a small art gallery: "Go ask." Phnesha had promised God she would trust Him to lead her, so she did as she was told.

Phnesha was greeted at the door by one of the gallery's owners, who asked her to show him pictures of her work, which she had on her phone. Before she left the gallery that day, she had booked a solo exhibition there.

Soon thereafter, the voice told her she should create a children's book, and this time she knew better than to be skeptical. Gabby and Gigi are both featured in the book, which is inspired by their daily activities and the paintings and drawings mother and daughters created together. Not bad for someone who was skeptical when a voice told her to start painting!

Read Phnesha's inspiring story from the May 2018 issue of Guideposts magazine!