Here is my desk today.
There's so much I need to fix!
When I paint, like this morning,
I have to clear one side by piling it up on the other!
"How shall I describe this generation?" Luke 7:31
We could say that Jesus was frustrated. He asked, "What comparison can I use for the men of today? What are they like?" And He compares them to kids playing a game in the city square, or in the public market. The children play wedding songs or funeral songs, anything that can get them a bit of money perhaps. Men and women of today are still much the same. We are still playing games, not very serious about what we believe in. We like to pick and choose the songs we sing. We like to do it "my way". In Jesus' time, people criticized John the Baptist for being too severe, for fasting all the time. But they also put down Jesus for feasting and eating, and being a friend of sinners. Today, we read the Bible, and gloss over the verses that bring us to hard places, places where we would rather not go. Repentance. Transformation. Sacrifice. Forgiveness 70 x 7. Do we pass these Bible passages by?
If we want a life where God makes an appearance, where we can say we know the God of the Bible, we cannot make Him up. We cannot invent Him. We cannot make Him in our image. We can only pray, "Lord, show up in my life!"
"Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered..." Hebrews 5:8
When I was young, I was always asking God to treat me gently. I was always aware that there were many things that could happen that could destroy the perfect world I had with my family, my friends, this precious little circle I lived in. And God was faithful,and answered my prayers. Until He showed me, that if He did not prune me, I would wither and die like a plant that was not exposed to a gardener's pruning shears. There are different kinds of cutters. Some are strong enough to cut tree branches, and they are called "loppers". Then there are the specialized ones for pruning Japanese bonsai and the exquisite miniature landscapes of the Vietnamese. To cut leaves and branches higher up, gardeners can use an averruncator which has a telescopic pole.
One of my favorite verses is from 1 Corinthians 3:9, where Saint Paul tells us we are God's garden, His field, His farm. And like any farmer, God prepares the ground for a rich harvest. The hard soil must be broken up, so He can plant the seeds. The season, the timing, the depth of the seeds in the soil, how much water, how much sun, these are all to be considered. And then when the plants are grown, and in need of pruning, God lovingly takes out those pruning shears and removes those dead leaves and unfruitful stems. Even Jesus was pruned. And Jesus learned obedience from His suffering. Perfect obedience. I do believe that God has a special set of shears for each one of us. For some of us, He uses the lopper. For some He picks the high carbon kiri style shears for precision cutting. Whatever tool God uses, and we can be sure it is the perfect one, we know it is so we will yield much fruit, and bloom! One day we will be perfect too, like Jesus!
Joining the lovely Julia Dunnit for a
peek at desks and projects!
I find a lot of inspiration
visiting my friends here:
Mondays @ Soul Survival
Small Wonders, Testimony Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesdays,
Turn it up Tuesday , Share the Joy,
Count Your Blessings, Word Art Wednesday, Wildly Original
Small Wonders, Testimony Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesdays,
Turn it up Tuesday , Share the Joy,
Count Your Blessings, Word Art Wednesday, Wildly Original
Blessings!
Patsy
It's not always easy to embrace the pruning, but absolutely necessary! Thanks for the reminder. Tracy #11
ReplyDeleteAh, oh, the pruning....
ReplyDeleteI like that you have to pile up on one side to use another, makes me feel normal!
Yes, the pruning is so necessary. We don't realize it is being done but in hindsight often it becomes clear. Not easy. But God loves us and will help us grow.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week,
Lisca#24
Love the piling up, we all do that! Such a lovely post with fabulous artwork. Take care Zo xx 36
ReplyDeleteGreat artwork and thought provoking words - thank you. Linda #52
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts about God using different kinds of pruning for different people (even at different seasons of our lives) is insightful and inspired.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking this evening about the trials we went through 25 years ago and then the even more intense difficulties we faced just in the last decade.
I believe we are coming into a time of fruitfulness such that we have not experienced before and your timely post makes me even more sure of that.
Blessing hugs,
Teresa
Patsy, Another heartfelt post and one many don't want to acknowledge or embrace. The art is a gift to those who see it. Thank you so much for taking time to post your very creative art with us this week at Word Art Wednesday in our 201st AG challenge!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Hugs, Carole
Patsy - I'm delighted to share that you're our Featured Friend at this week's Friendship Friday at Create With Joy.
ReplyDeleteHave an amazing week! :-)
P.S. Would love for you to enter our War Room Prayer Book Giveaway and help spread the word - it's open worldwide! :-)
That's exactly what I do! Move all my stuff from one side to the other and back again depending on which side I need to use.
ReplyDeleteFound you through WOYWW #328 (I'm new) and I LOVE your art work, so very pretty. I'll be following you.
Another excellent drawing! When I first saw that one image I thought it was the actor James Franco. I can see that is not who you were drawing but wow I am amazed that is looks exactly like him! Awesome job! Thank you for playing along in the Word Art Wednesday Challenge! Have a blessed day!
ReplyDeleteCharity - DT Member - Word Art Wednesday
http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com
http://collectivecreativity.blogspot.com (my personal blog)