Monday, February 9, 2015

Going Blank?

I read a meditation this weekend that meant a lot to me, as an artist and as a follower of Christ.  The comment concerned the scripture in the gospel of Mark when Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John and was ushered to the bed of Simon's mother-in-law who was very ill with a fever.  "He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.  Then the fever left her and she waited on them" (1:31). 

So many times I go "blank" with trepidation.  I sense this when I am staring at a page of stark white watercolor paper, hesitant to mark it, trying to plan perfectly what the composition should be, with or without a sketch or thumbnail to guide me.  There is something about the unknown there that paralyzes me, sometimes.  It can be the same with other life experiences where I feel afraid or unsure of myself or my skills.  I find myself "going blank" and unable to take one little step, for fear of failure.

Perhaps it is precisely in these "blank" paralyzing times that I need to remember that Christ is beside me, standing near me as I lay in my bed worrying, as I sit at my desk at work, when I am intimidated, or when I fail.  Jesus "approaches" me, and he approaches you.  He extends his strong, muscular arm to us.  Can't you just see it?   He "grasps" (what a wonderful word) my hand and your hand in his own warm and sure hand.  Can't you just feel it?   And he pulls us upright again and encourages us to put our trust in him.  We look into his deep set eyes that seem to peer right through us, to read our minds, to hold our souls and pull them close to him. 

Christ can heal the blank moments we experience.  And then, with great thanksgiving and confidence in his powerful help, we can paint.  And live.

That's how I see it, Through the Cottage Door this morning.  Have a Blessed Day.

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