Tuesday, November 15, 2011

God Sendings

BLIND CONTOURS

Above is an example of “Blind Contour” drawing, this one done by excellent artist Whitney Wood-Rahm Weldon. If you go to her website, you can see more of her work, including her wonderful paintings and works on wood. You can find her Blind Contours under her Sketchbook menu if you select “Sketches and Stuff.” Here is her website address:

http://www.whitneyworksartstudio.com/index2.php#/rgallery2/1/

There is a reason I am bringing this up for discussion. In Blind Contour drawing, the artist is blocked from seeing either the paper or their own hand. Now you, reader of my blog, know me well enough by now to suspect that I see this as a metaphor.

To me, it is the way life is -- a hallway down which we walk until, suddenly and sometimes without warning, the lights go off and we find ourselves in the pitch dark. We know there is a light switch someplace -- but where? We fumble around, feeling our way down the aisle of trouble and trial. I know from first-hand experience that it can be hell in the hallway.

This morning when I was reading Ezekiel 22:21, I believe God spoke to me and said, “My mercies are in the midst.” That was when I remembered Blind Contour drawing and the above giraffe. Artists describe the process as feeling uncomfortable because you cannot see what you are drawing. “It is hard to stick with it,” says one. But invariably, there is a recognizable result despite all odds of that happening when you don’t even know where you are. It’s about process, not product, apparently.

Maybe that’s what God is trying to tell us about life, especially about life when it gets dark in the hallway. “Go anyway. All will be well. My mercies are in the midst.”

2 comments:

  1. In the midst? Cool! That's where Jesus is, where 2 or more of us gather together in His name!

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  2. Amen to that, my sweet friend and sister Nancy so near and yet far away. What a blessing it is to have someone comment! Not only that, you so "get me" -- you really are a gift I cherish...

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