A woman’s unwavering faith becomes reality

Elizabeth Morales and her artwork
Elizabeth Morales and her artwork

A woman’s unwavering faith becomes reality

By A. Chapman

     One persistent dream resonates within Elizabeth Morales’s mind, her mother, Annette Chapman-Morales’s, unwavering faith in her dream to become an artist. Mrs. Chapman-Morales described her daughter’s talent as a gift from God. Last year, Mrs. Morales passed untimely, at the age of 47, after a diagnosis of breast cancer, 15 years ago. It was a difficult time for Elizabeth, a time when she turned to her art for comfort.  

    Even though Elizabeth witnessed her mother’s daily struggle with cancer, and the days when her mother couldn’t get out of bed, she sometimes questioned God’s plan. But through her sickness, her mother never gave up on her faith and taught Elizabeth to maintain her faith and devotion to God. Today, knowing that her mother is in God’s presence is a constant means of strength and determination.   

    Mrs. Chapman-Morales,was a special needs teacher who knew how to find a child’s talent and develop it. Her desire to work with handicap children spoke of her character.  After she witnessed Elizabeth’s determination and what happened when she put crayons, pencils, clay and paint in her little girl’s hands, she was amazed and persevered to help Elizabeth reach her goal of becoming an artist. 

    The long hours that Elizabeth spent alone in her room, often missing events with her friends and family to work on her art, solidified her mother’s belief in her talent. Despite family members persuading her to guide Elizabeth, as they put it, ‘Towards a degree in an area that was, reliable and main stream,” Mrs. Chapman-Morales did what she didn’t do much and that was to go against the advice of her husband, an executive at American Express, her dad a pastor with a degree in Theology and her mom a nutritionist, and nurture Elizabeth’s decision to become an artist. 

    Elizabeth began living her dream when her art was placed on display at a Delray Beach Art Studio. The countless hours that she spent on her art and imagining the day that she would gain recognition, became a reality, February 2013. When she walked into the studio, and saw her bust placed as the introductory piece at the door, her only regret was that her mother wasn’t there to share in her excitement.

    Elizabeth won two silver ribbons for her work. She is graduating from Boca High School May 2013, and has applied to Savannah State University and Art Universities in California and Miami.  Elizabeth feels that her mother is smiling down on her, and as her mother’s eulogy states, she is, ‘’An Angel in Flight”. Elizabeth can be reached at stan5198@aol.com.

 

About Carma Henry 24363 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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