Paintings for God

22 Feb 2013 by Donna Uning CM – 

An array of paintings wall to wall covers the interior of the house as you walk into the wooden house; there Stephanie Eng greets you warmly into her home. I have walked into her home a few times, but her dog still does not recognize me or my sister.

Stephanie walked us into her brick and wooden abode, where a wooden spiral staircase centers the entrance, kitchen, living and dining rooms. This is the second time I talked with Stephanie about her Christian walk, the last time, I decided to ask her about her many testimoniesand life as a Christian was during the Chinese New Year.

“I want to use my artwork to glorify God,” she said. “My paintings are very spiritual,” she pointed to the three paintings in her living room. I remember those paintings the last time I visited her about a year ago. “That’s a storm, tranquility, and the three heavens,” she pointed.

Being a single mother with a school going daughter, she admitted that painting has become a spare time. “I want to sell my paintings and give to the church,” she told, stating how she loves to do artwork and travel at the same time. Due to her health, painting has become temporary. “I paint when I have time,” she said.

“When my daughter goes to college, I will go to college too,” she continued saying that she would go back to school and go into full time ministry.

God gives me the ideas to paint. To get inspiration, I pray before working so I feel calm and satisfied; as though somebody is leading me, she said. Her abstract paintings depict her spiritual life.  ‘Storm’ shows the storm you go through in life, the storm before the vision. Another is creation of the universe and the light shows the power of God coming down this earth as energy from darkness.

In her Christian life, “I have never been far from God, even before I had these visions. She remembered being in one house group for less than a month, but the pull of the world affected her. I knew behind my mind, one day I can come back, she told. I was not fully committed yet, but I go to church seminars and such.

One day I was curious about the book of John where it says, “The Word became alive.” My friend Michael said, God will reveal to you if you ask; He will show you. “So I searched and prayed. What does it mean?”

One day as she was reading and praying, she was so shocked to find, “Suddenly the Words come out alive from the page (of the Bible) just like 3D!” It was illuminated and Stephanie was in shocked. She closed and opened the bible so many times but it was still there. “I thought my eyes were playing tricks.”

“I believe the spirit of the Word is the living Word. From then, I became close to God,” she said. That was over 30 years ago.

She began telling me about the three visions she saw about 13 years ago. People were praying for me during a bad stage of my life. About a year earlier, she had joined the Life in the Spirit Seminar at St. Faith’s Church, Kuching. There, she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

When my mother was not well, I went to Santubong for a retreat. It was Christmas eve at the late bro William Lee’s house. “That time I got a call from my brother which stirred me up. I broke down and the Lees calmed me down with prayer. That’s when I fell down,” she recalled.

Stephanie Eng with her paintings ‘Three Heavens’ and ‘Storm’.

Mrs. Lee asked me, “Did you see anything?” Why? She saw my face so serene and different. She asked again.

 “In the first vision, I see Jesus as a Lamb of God,” she said. “The vision is very vivid in my mind. With my eyes closed and spiritual eyes open, I saw a bright light shining down, focusing onto something.

I saw a wool-like wig. I thought, what was that? I looked at it and saw straw stuck on it.

“The vision becomes focused and I saw somebody wearing a wig. It was a figure. A shadow of a man with eyes closed. He looked so still, looks like a portrait. I can see the eyes, nose, beard and neck with the straw still stuck on the wool.

“My spiritual eyes can see it still there. I opened and closed my eyes again; about four to five times it was still there. Then it was gone.”

“In the second vision, behind the olive tree, I see Jesus as the Son of Man,” she continued. She added that she saw Jesus as a man.

“With my eyes still close, I see something moving towards me like branches and a bush which I can see right through the back.

“I saw a prolife of a man about 30 years old. He had a sandy colored hair, medium length and a Mediterranean skin color with a Jewish nose. He has a beard but not that heavy.

“It was coming towards me. As it comes nearer, I turned and the face turned towards me. The face was not so focused; it was distorted and went away in flashes.”

In her third vision, “I see Jesus as the Godhead, the supreme I see Jesus as the divine. I cannot see the face. But, I feel and see the being.”

“I see a deep blue sky, heavenly blue. I see a spot in a distance; a white spot coming towards me moving in slow motion and sometimes fast.

“Wow! Then I can see a figure in white blowing in the wind, hands outstretched but the face was white. There was a white radiant coming very close with hands waving towards me.

“As I come nearer, I fall into His arms. He retreats back. His hands were up calling me as I retreat. As it go backwards, up and turned round and round like a whirlpool then disappears.

“This one was the most awesome. I can see the arms, long, but I can’t see the fingers. That vision is still very clear in my mind; it was so unexpected.” God never reveals His face, in Jesus, yes, she said.

Stephanie gets inspiration for her paintings from God.

Her life changed after that. “I was in a whirlwind (during my visions). Once you see that, your life will change. My life is completely changed after that,” she said seriously. She told me that her visions came at one time.

Now I know Jesus, I want to show my work now. I’m happy with my work and I want to produce more, she said. She paints in the stillness of the night when all is calm. “I pray and meditate; without this, I cannot operate.”

As we walk past her paintings I asked her about them again, she continued, “I hope my artwork can help support me when I do full time ministry.”

Stephanie has been saved for 15 years. “I hope that I have support with my paintings and give testimonies on the related work,” she said. Stephanie’s paintings can be seen at the Hong Kong Bank, Sarawak museum, KL Petronas, Cat Museum, Riverside Majestic Hotel, DBKU, private collections and overseas including Australia where people purchased her work.

“I haven’t exposed my work for so long. People are keen to buy but I don’t want to sell yet, she told. If needed, she would sell one or two. There are a lot more artwork with major visions in her paintings. “God is revealing to me how to go about it.” She also said the bigger pieces are challenging with her art sizes ranging from 39 cm square to one meter square. Apart from the abstracts, her other paintings depict culture, unspoiled beauty, natural beauty of natives and the countryside.

After our conversation, Stephanie went into her kitchen and served lunch including her chicken cream curry (yum!), which was the first for me. She also talked about the time her daughter saw a vision at five years old. She has so much talk about when it comes to her relationship with Jesus.

It was a cool rainy afternoon and we had a good fellowship at her cozy home on top of the hill. By late afternoon, we said our goodbyes as I drove down the winding road.

 

For more information on Stephanie Eng’s paintings and purchases, please contact CM writer, Donna Uning at donna5writes@gmail.com.

 

Dear Viewers in Christ, if you find this article edifying to you, please share with your friends or loved ones by using the social media plugs (Share, Email to this article). The Lord will surely bless you as you bless others. May the Lord’s peace and love be with you. Amen. 

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