where waves grow sweet

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Elisabethan Art

Quick story that cracked me up today. I was sorting through a stack of papers and other random things that have been collecting, most of which got filed or shredded. There were a few special items – like art made for me by my niece and nephew, and a few photos that make me smile big. I decided these should be hung on the back of my bedroom door for daily enjoyment, which I quickly accomplished with scotch tape before hurrying out to run errands.

Smiles that provoke smiles

When I got back, I came into my bedroom and took in the love plastered all over the surface of the door. I did indeed smile, partly because of the joyful view but mostly because of how ridiculously crooked everything was hung. I had lined everything up with Elisabeth’s painting of my turtles, which was on a serious slope. As a result, everything else was angled downward on the right. Lined up with each other? Yes. Lined up with the straight edges of the door? Um, no.

It reminded me of the time a while back when I was playing the piano and feeling pretty darn rhythmic. Sure, I didn’t bother to count out the notes and didn’t even really know what some of them meant. But, on the whole, I thought it sounded right and it was more enjoyable to play without those pesky details. I must have been in lessons because I remember the metronome entering my world. It behaved contrary to my sense of rhythm and felt so confining that I let it play in the background while I ignored it and did my own thing.

Eventually, I decided to slow the tempo way down, figure out what the heck the music was telling me to do, and work out the difference. It seemed that I would start in perfect timing before getting off beat and the only way to recover was to start over. Frustrating for sure. Then a change happened. I began to be able to hop back in when I got off beat. I stopped ignoring the persistent tick of the bossy little box, and began taking my cues from it. I started to enjoy the way it enabled me play my music better. Even when I hadn’t turned it on, I could still hear it in my head. It helped and I was grateful.

I don’t have a lot of time to draw deep conclusions but want to say that I am glad beyond measure for the word of God. Not like relativism where it looks okay next to other crooked things or sounds decent in my own estimation, but absolute and perfect… as a guide for life so that the beauty and melody can be displayed in their fullest measure.

Okie dokie. That’s it for now. Hope you have a great night!