"Whatever will you do?"

I have been reading a book on one of my favorite artists John Singer Sargent.  His work is absolutely breathtaking and always inspires me.  How interesting to find out that even he became discouraged at times.  He once told a friend that he might quit painting.  The friend cried out in astonishment "Whatever will you do?" because  as the friend said "Sargent was so exclusively an artist that one could think of no other occupation."  This is exactly how I feel.  There have been times when  I have vowed to put away the paint brushes. There have also been times when I have actually laid them aside.   But the question is "What will  I do?"  How can you tell an apple tree to stop producing apples?  Being an artist is not merely what I do, it is what I was created to be.  It colors everything in my world, my thoughts, my actions, even how I relate to God.   I cannot stop being an artist, even if I tried.  So whatever the future brings I will face it paintbrush in hand.