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I want to tell you a story about this painting. A woman who has previously purchased my art on eBay emailed me recently asking about a painting I had on eBay called \u201cSeparated Friends<\/strong>\u201c. She wanted it, but it had already sold. We made an arrangement for me to paint a similar one on commission. The painting above is the finished product, called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Separated Son<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I named it that. She told me why she wanted it. I quote:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I had a son who vanished without a trace here on his 23rd birthday, November 4, 2000. When I saw that picture, it tugged at my spirit. It was like what has happened in my heart with my son. His name was\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 is Joshua. I loved it, and I love how looking at your work makes me feel in my soul.<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n I can\u2019t tell you how deeply her story moved me. My oldest son\u2019s name is Joshua, and I couldn\u2019t imagine the pain she must have and must still be enduring. We emailed back and forth, discussing the painting, and she confided even more:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Joshua left us beside the ocean in the nighttime. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a long, strange story\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 one that could take hours of sharing. I am a believer. I have survived through faith. Some people said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, God would never make you have to live with the not knowing. He will let you know what has become of your son.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He didn\u2019t. And we have learned the true meaning of faith, not on a day filled with sunshine and fulfilled dreams, but in the trenches where it would be oh so easy to throw up the hands and stomp away in anger\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 for lack of answers\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 in anger over the loss\u2026 in the trenches\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the hurt\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the disbelief\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the agony of the hunt unreconciled with the child we sought so frantically\u2026<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n