Narrow Gates, Wide Paths, and the Holy Trinity

When I first started this sketch, I thought I was illustrating this verse from the Gospel of Matthew:   “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.  For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7: 13-14 NRSVUE).

I don't have a copy of the early days of the sketch, the black line drawing that looked more like paths winding their way across the page.

As I started to add color, I started to see three figures, and as I added more color, the one on the left, the one in yellows and reds, started to seem female.  My mind went, as it always does, to ideas about the Holy Trinity.  And so, I decided to explore that.  

In the end, the figure on the left in yellows and reds became the Holy Spirit, and the one on the right, in greens, became the Creator.  The middle figure ended up being an amalgamation of colors and shapes that I often use for the Virgin Mary, along with images I've used, and the culture has used, for Christ.  There are three crosses, done in fine-line black pen, in the bottom circle, along with a star, also done in pen, in the space between the two circles. The darker ovals in the top circle were supposed to represent the empty tomb.

I'm pleased with how it turned out--but I continue to be intrigued by how I thought I was drawing something totally different only to end up sketching Trinitarian images again.