My journey from start 'til now. - Tricia Ting Lee

Since high school, I’ve always wanted to illustrate children books. But the thought of being a “starving artist” drove me to give up this dream and pursue a more lucrative career – I went into advertising.

When I graduated, I was excited to embark on my new adventure. I landed a job up in San Francisco working on Adidas. It was definitely my dream job. Advertising was fun – traveling to exotic places to shoot TV commercials, staying in 5 star hotels and eating expensive meals on the client were just a few of the perks. Slowly, I started to conform to this lifestyle of, “Life is short. Do whatever pleases you…” and I began questioning my faith in God.

I remember one day when I was living in NYC I was hanging out with a friend talking about religion and she said, “I believe all religions point to the same God.” I nodded my head in agreement with her. A couple of months later I ran into an old childhood friend of mine and told him what she said. He was so upset with me for believing that and quoted Exodus 34:14 –“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:” This was definitely a wake up call. I realized that my faith had become soft. God convicted me through my friend and I asked God to forgive me.

I became disillusioned with my career and I wanted to do something that would make a positive impact in people’s lives, especially children. My desire to illustrate children’s books grew stronger. I met people at work that had written children stories and was looking for an illustrator. So we would partner together but nothing ever came from it. I gave up again.

Fast forward to 2006 when I was pregnant with my daughter, Maya. Late one night when I was speaking to a friend that was my spiritual mentor, I told her that I always wanted to illustrate children’s books. All of a sudden she was silent. With tears streaming down her face, she said, “I believe you’re the one that God has chosen to illustrate my book.” She then told me that this book was suppose to be a surprise for me and her daughter since we were both about to become moms. One night while she was praying for our children, she asked God, “What happens in Heaven when a child is born?” Images and words came flashing through her mind and she ran to her computer to record everything.

It took me 8 months to paint Beautiful and Valiant. Throughout the whole process, my friend sent passages of the Bible to me and I learned so much about Heaven and God’s Throne. A year after this book was finished, we were talking about another idea for a book. It was amazing; God gave us the entire story and visuals in one night. And this time around, I painted The Land Where Dreams Come True in just 3 months! Again, I learned so much about Jesus and how much He loves us.

Around this time, I started asking the Lord to give me more opportunities to illustrate children’s books. I met a few people that wanted to partner with me on a book but nothing ever came from it. I didn’t understand why. I kept telling God that it was my heart’s desire to illustrate books and to get out of advertising.

So I waited...and waited…and waited. One day I got an email from a woman that was friends with my parents. She wrote that her niece, Lori, had written some books and was looking for an illustrator. Lori had written a children’s series about this kid named Henry Hamper and his encounters with animals. These animals all have a “problem” and Henry is able to help them out through prayer and some creativity.

We began talking on the phone and I soon realized that God had placed her in my life for a reason. She has become a close friend and sister and whenever I have a problem or I need prayer, she is one of the first ones I call. We’ve shared long talks on the phone about our lives and how God is so faithful and good.

Our first book, The Adventures of Henry Hamper & The Flying Fish was finished this past May. Lori is planning to travel here to California to do some book signings and give her testimony. I’m so excited to finally meet her in person. I’m currently working on our next book, The Adventures of Henry Hamper & The Color Caterpillar. God not only answered my prayer but He’s given me more than I could ever ask for. I’ve been learning throughout this process that God is never late, but always on time.