Beauty Defies Despair
Is it still 2021?
Is it just me, or has it already been a long year?
Here’s a word of encouragement. I hope it will bless and strengthen you: Chaos is God’s canvas. He does His best work when everything is “without form, and void”, when everything is chaos. I firmly believe the Holy Spirit’s answer to chaos is that we create something beautiful.
I set my heart to get back into the studio this week. I set my mind to be an imitator of God. I set my hands to a good work, and got to work.
There were a lot of journaling pages, because that is how I warm up. All my best mistakes are made inside the pages of my art journals.
But at some point, the cup overflows, and I have to pick up a substrate and make.
These were the 3 pieces that came out of the making. All three sold. Not that selling is an indicator of worth or value - not at all. My point is, what if I had allowed the overwhelm (with political upheaval) to keep me out of the studio? It would have been so easy to use my usual means of escape - it would have been so easy to dive into hours and hours of Bible study.
Yes. Bible study is my escape, because enneagram 5. Studying my Bible is beautiful and important, but I can’t tell you how many times I do that when I should be in the studio slinging paint - I know this for a fact, deep inside. I draw such deep comfort from studying Scripture. But at some point, all that study must become faith.
Faith without accompanying action is worthless, being alone. The accompanying action does not have to be volunteering at a soup kitchen. It does not have to be the act of giving my body to be burned. It does not have to be leaving for Africa on a missions trip. All those things are good - well, not the burning body stuff, I hope you understand what I am getting at.
What action do you need to take in the area of your calling? That is the action that, for you, is an act of faith! What might that be, for you? What sort of making are you called to? I think making is one of the deepest acts of faith we can do, whether that be making art or making dinner or making love with your spouse or making things right in the world.
I’m glad I got “in there” and got my hands dirty. And do you know what else? All those hours of Bible study come out in every piece of art that I do. It all somehow ties together, because I was made for all of it.
Ever since the December 2020 calendar page dropped dramatically into the trash can, ever since January 2021 arrived, there has been one song I have sung over and over again. Almost every time I hear it, I fight back the tears. I want to share it with you, because I still believe that “Beauty Defies Despair”:
