i wonder what it took
a poem to honor one of God’s spectacular creations, my friend and sister in Christ, Christina Chan.
the first time i saw her charcoal drawings to honor the stories of victims of human trafficking…it well…just completely floored me…
this is one of her portraits…yes it is a drawing and not picture…i know like holy crazy wow!
i wonder what it took God
for you to put this gift
in Christina’s hands
so she could give face to the unseen
a sense of freedom
to the enslaved
with such tenderness and gentleness
in her heart
to move a piece of charcoal in a way
that restores humanity
that restores hope
that restores a sense of awe
that simply put
makes us feel
and overwhelms us with
a life giving spirit
that truly heals
i wonder what it took God
for you to stomach what happened
to the people she drew
who faced horrific dehumanization, persecution
and torture
our world is full
of so much sin and hurt
a reminder that we can
never let our eyes
turn away from You
i want to ask how your heart is God
i feel the pain of a Father
who gives and sacrifices so much
to let us know how much you love us
and while it won’t make this pain erase
seeing the gifts
you placed in Christina
that shine light on the human race
surely must bring
a smile to your face
for us in the room just now
her art
shook our souls
settled our spirits
and opened our hearts
inspiring us to honor our own gifts
and restore the world with our eyes, hands
and tongues
bringing us all
a moment of ease
and new light that will overwhelm
the darkness in the world
with purpose, joy and peace
i wonder what it took God
for you to place all this creativity in us
like how you shaped Christina’s hands,
heart and eyes to work together
is just so genius
but of course we don’t have to know
bc part of your beauty
is in the mystery that you bestow
so we turn again to your daughter
with eyes of Jesus and say
Christina
your art has lessened life’s toll
we look and shake our heads
with such wonder and amazement
at what it took
for your hands to make
we say to you please keep going
we can’t wait to see what is next
for you to create
so thank you for this moment of awe
to admire the endless beauty
of your char - coal
wondering what else is possible
when let the stillness of God reveal
the endless beauty
in our soul
Christina on the left with one of her portrait subjects on the right!
More about Christina:
Christina Chan is a self taught artist based in the U.S.
She specializes in hyperrealistic charcoal and graphite portraits of modern slavery survivors. Merging together her passions of art and human rights, she concentrates the viewer on the reality of modern slavery as well as the strength and beauty of each portrait subject.
Outside of art, she is focused on the intersection of business and human rights in a globalized economy.
