Seek the Sacred Amidst the Ordinary

Spring has flown and summer is upon us, which means sticky, hot days here in Virginia. So rather than face the heat, I return to the blog after a month long absence. Please forgive my neglect. It has been a month filled with happy activities surrounding my daughter’s high school graduation. So it may seem odd that I am drawn to this haunting image by my friend Jeanne. Like most of her art, it takes time to find words worthy of her craft. For almost a year, this drawing has been my screensaver, sometimes welcome, other times an abrupt collision with reality. I am uncertain if it is dawn or dusk, if the tides are rising or falling, if the ship has just arrived or is long abandoned. All I know for sure is the ship is stuck in the shoals, rather than floating along in the channel. Will the ship be able to break free if the tides rise high enough? Or is it shunted in the shallows forever? Is the ship weighed down with rust and ruin, or simply covered with a thin film of leaf litter and grime? I, for one, hope we are viewing the dawn, rather than the dusk, a diversion rather than a destination, a short reprieve rather than final sentence. Like F Scott Fitzgerald, I choose to reserve judgment, because ‘Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope”. I trust the hull remains sound even when the surface has weathered one too many storms. Make time today to clear the litter from your soul, to make your way back into the deep channel, instead of remaining in the stagnant shallows. Allow the Holy Spirit to lift the tides of your life to a new level, to show you a way beyond a situation you thought was impossible to cope with or move beyond. Trust in the sovereignty of the Almighty to guide your steps and guard your heart for what lies ahead. Let go of your meager expectations and make room for more than you could begin to imagine or even hope for. And always remember to look with the heart and not just the eyes, or you might miss the beauty that lies beneath a weathered exterior. Text by Connie Chintall ©2013, Art entitled ‘Shipwreck’ by Jeanne Mischo ©2013, All Rights Reserved. To see more of her work, go to http://jeannemischo.wordpress.com/