Yet as I threw you away, I felt violent thirst. But, He showed me water that satisfied my thirst!

Life, for Saint Philip, was filled with a deep thirst for many things...money, nice things, and above all love. The problem for Philip was that he believed that God wanted him to relinquish all such desires and live a life of simplicity and loneliness. He believed that it was through hardship that he would win God's favor.

One night he fell asleep at the top of a mountain where he dreamed that there was a blackbird buried under a rock. When he rose early in the cold morning, he saw the very rock from his dream and using his walking stick, he began to pry the rock loose of the dirt. Almost immediately, a blackbird flew laughing from under the large stone and away. With the rock finally loosened, water began to trickle down the face of the mountain eventually becoming a water fall. In astonishment, the saint walked away, leaving his walking stick in the dirt. The stick eventually sprouted, becoming a magnificent silver birch. The leaves of this magical tree can cure any thirst.

Watercolor and gold on paper. Copyright 2010 by Kelley Vandiver