emotional

I Draw Smiles

Cartoons and caricatures can bring comfort

by Nick Nixon

This article was featured in the Summer 2014: Joy, Humor and Healing print issue. Click here to see the complete table of contents.

Written by Nick Nixon on June 15, 2014

Nick Nixon

Nick Nixon is the funny guy behind the blog NickWits: The World According to Nick, and a humor writer and cartoonist in Cordova, Tennessee.

See all articles by Nick Nixon.

As a humor writer, illustrator and cartoonist, I seem to be able to find some humor in almost everything, and my cup is always at least half full. When I was diagnosed with cancer back in 2007, my oncologist told me to hang onto that positive attitude and sense of humor, and that it would play a big part in my recovery. He was so right!

While going through treatments and the recovery process, I asked God to give me a ministry out of all of this, and God did. Through writing, cartooning and drawing caricatures, God has shown me how to use the special talents and abilities he gave me to bring laughter and comfort to people. I have been blessed to be able to minister to cancer patients, young and old, and their families ever since. Cancer patients and survivors are all members of an exclusive club. We have a bond with one another and we are not bashful about sharing our experiences with each other. Cancer is a heck of an ice breaker!

Sometimes I write humorous articles about my little “side trip” with cancer and a few bumps in the road that I encountered during my treatments. I share these and other stories with cancer patients. They, in turn, have shared with me. Through this, I have made many friends who are going through cancer treatments. I try to encourage them, but I never make predictions about their recovery, nor do I mention the alternative. I have visited with their families and prayed with them. They have blessed me, and I hope my efforts have blessed them.

I also draw caricatures—you know, cartoons of people that look like them, only bigger and better—of cancer patients at Hope Lodge, a local no-charge hotel for out of town cancer patients and their families, and at various cancer clinics. These patients seem to share my sense of humor and I understand theirs; I have yet to meet an adult cancer patient who did not enjoy a good laugh! When I draw a caricature of someone, we talk a lot, share a lot and laugh a lot. We swap stories about our experiences with cancer, about our families, our faith in God’s mercy and healing power. I have learned about farming, truck driving, cooking, raising kids, other parts of the country, and other parts of the world. I have been asked to add hair where there is no longer any. Some want a mustache or beard; some want to be sitting on a motorcycle. One man with a patch over one eye asked me to draw him as a pirate. Some have lost their teeth, some have lost their ability to speak clearly, some are in pain, some are frightened—but all of them hold onto their hope in the possibility of healing and recovery. I am living proof that prayers of righteous men and women avail much. I share that with them. I do not predict anything, but I do try to encourage them and share the joy.

Children are more difficult for me to caricature. They don’t understand what a caricature is, so I try to draw them as accurately as I can, and as close to what Norman Rockwell would have done. Of all the kids I have drawn, the most memorable was a little boy who sat in his father’s lap in the dining room at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and stared at the floor. He rarely looked up. In talking with his parents, I found out that he had recently been diagnosed with a form of cancer. He was obviously frightened as he clung to his father. When I finished the drawing, I turned it around and showed it to him. He lit up with a smile for me and for his parents. His mother told me, through tears, that was the first time she had seen him smile since he was diagnosed. I thought my heart would burst!

But cartooning can be a ministry with children in other ways. I have raised five children and I have twelve grandchildren, and I read to two groups of four- and five-year-olds in our church programs each Friday morning. I also draw some coloring book pages featuring the characters in the stories I read for the children to color. I love kids and I know how to interact with them. I think there must be a little of Peter Pan in me.

Recently, the Lord took one of these precious four-year-old children home. I pray I was able to bring some love, laughter and joy into his brief life. He had spent much of his life in hospitals, and he really did not know how to react to and with other children at first. But being a child, he did adapt. The last time I saw him, he sat next to me while I read and hugged me when I left. That is a very precious memory that I will always cherish.

Through my drawings, God has blessed me to minister to people who are suffering, young and old. Whether it’s with pen in hand, sitting at my computer or drawing board, in prayer or just sharing, my prayer is that it is the Holy Spirit at work through me, controlling my hands, my heart and my voice. I have no idea where some of the caricatures I have done ended up—in a frame, on a bulletin board, taped to a wall, in a drawer or in the trash. I just know that I am the one who is blessed by what God has chosen me to do.

Tagged under:

Emotional
humor

Share on:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Get email updates featuring tips, resources and special promotions! Sign up here >>

License
Privacy