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In this fourth scene the young man with dark brown hair, a green shirt & jeans is walking down a road with stone walls on either side. The snow storm in the top left of the picture represents the kingdom of darkness from which the man has recently emerged. This is the last of the first 4 pictures depicting winter in the man’s early life.

The title “First steps on a protected pathway” refers to many brand new Christian’s experience, as they first start out on their walk with Jesus. In His infinite patience, love and kindness, new Christians often experience the protective, guiding hand of God, leading them carefully forward into their new life. That Godly guidance is the “protected pathway” or stone walls on either side of the snowy road down which the man has walked. After some time in the Christian faith, God might remove His more obvious guidance, which allows someone to develop deeper trust, love & obedience towards God. This gradual removal of God’s more obvious guidance is represented in my illustration by the stone wall gradually disappearing, especially in the bottom right hand side of the picture. The pathway has no boundary wall, as it winds its way towards a bridge, and goes out of sight, towards the warm glow of the sun.

Notice that there is a fork in the pathway, just before the wooden bridge, the left hand path leads back towards the snow storm on the top left of the picture. The fork in the path represents the choices everyone always has, to either continue onwards in their Christian faith journey, or else to turn back towards the kingdom of darkness. God always allows us to have choices, all throughout our lives, as to which way we will choose to go.

Another aspect of this “first steps” picture is the help the man is receiving as he walks down the road, into her new, better, Christian life. The Lord God sends new Christians help and aid in many forms, as they start out in their new life; in my picture this is represented by the man providing a warm coat and a woman offering a Bible to the new Christian man. Notice that the helpful man is wearing modern clothing, representative of our own modern times, whereas the woman offering the blue Bible is dressed in clothing from ancient Biblical times, representing other cultures and other historical times.

I have added a Robin (Erithacus rubecula) on a fence post, and a Raven (Corvus corax) in a gnarled tree in the bottom right of the picture. There are hardy sheep grazing in a small field too.