Thought for The Day - Launching Out into the Deep

You never know what will move you out there or what you will experience when you get out into the "open seas," but you can trust you will discover as much about you as you do about the world!

There are many things I'm reluctant to do; some things don't fit my identity and aren't part of my make up . I don't need to feel get high from liquor and certainly not drugs; good conversation and good music do the trick for me. But there are some things I know I want to do and places I want to go and situations I want to experience. And quite honestly, not everything can be learned through YouTube!

I find that this journey has strange twists and turns and yesterday's failures become tomorrow's epiphany. I began "blogging" years ago, though I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. I was told by the experts that an artist should blog about his art and so I did. But I didn't always have something to say about it. I could blog about my relationship with God, my aspirations and my philosophies about life, but not art - at least not all the time. I wrote about what was on my mind. But "it" wasn't working; I wasn't feeling the need to do so.

"Back to life, back to reality, back to the here and now..." I went back to the corporate jungle, back to the places where income is the main thing and back to my old role. Oh how I hated the notion of doing so! I met a coworker who seemed to be the epitome of class and professionalism and with a wonderful smile. But the strangest thing: without warning, I would have this sense that everything wasn't right. I didn't know her well enough to ask and yet this feeling wouldn't go away. One day, on a whim, I sent an email to her, short and simple: "Whatever you're going through, no matter what the day brings, there is nothing God can't bring you through." She LOVED IT! And asked if I could send these every day - joking of course. But it stirred the idea: A thought for the day, with a theme. I mulled it over for a while and found there really was a theme for each day. Lord knows I write enough on my own without sharing it so with a little practice and development, and here we are!

I have found through this process, I am peeling back layers of my own frustrations and finding someone beneath the surface I forgot existed. I find that I am far more sensitive, meaning I am both spiritually and emotionally aware of other's feelings as well as hypertuned to my own. This 240 pound guy isn't afraid to admit he cries! Wow! Admitting that now puts me out further in the deep!

There are days I am certain I have so far to go; my goals are stretched out to the other end of the universe! And there days I don't think I have the strength or cunning to make it another inch. But each day, without fail, I am further along this journey. And everyday, there is another part of me peeled away and more of me revealed.

Thought for The Day - Squeeze!

Elastic 18 x 24 pastels

A bible teacher years ago used the following analogy to describe a biblical truth. Using the requirement of fine flour to be used in sacrifice from Leviticus, he explained the following: "the process of crushing the wheat to produce flour used in sacrifice showed it's purity. The process of crushing removed impurities as the grinding and sifting separated the waste from the essential flour." He went on to say: "the fine flour is also a picture of Christ," who, when closely examined was found to be pure as well. He was beaten and tried and tempted and no sin was found in him." That example helped to shape my exploration of the person of Christ, and to examine my life as well.

We all endure hardships; difficulties are as much a part of life as sunny days. But it's what comes out of us that expresses who we are, what we're composed of. Sure, we are prone to say "ouch" and some "choice words," when we are squeezed, punched and nearly ground to nothing. But what comes afterwards also defines our character. After we have settled down, examined our reaction to the latest trial, do we continue to express pain and hurt? Or do we examine the deeper lesson buried beneath the difficulty?

For years, I really wanted to be an artist. But family, church commitments and other 'difficulties' blocked my view. All elements were necessary because truly the blocks and barriers were in my head, not in the face of family. Little by little, the difficulties actually brought out the artist in me. I knew the talent was there, but rather than use excuses and remain stuck, I used the hardships to 'squeeze' out of me what I wanted to become.