Good morning…
Most of the art around our home was created by people I know and love. Corrine Adams creations. Sally Mitchell originals. Photography by Jo Reeves and Karey Walter. Steve Penley, who bought and is now selling our old home. Paintings by Gina MacFarland, our SueToYou.com website designer. Creative expressions of our kids and family photos from over the years.
As art surrounds, meaningful connection abounds.
Our newest piece of art came back with me from my working visit with Gina in Black Mountain, North Carolina, as we streamlined ongoing costs for our written word ministry. This peaceful painting hung in the cozy guest bedroom where I stayed. Waking to this image and falling asleep to it for three restorative days, a sweet bond was secured. I was delighted to bring her home to Atlanta. Gina named the painting Serenity.
The dictionary defines serenity as a quality or state of being serene. Serene is utter calm, unruffled quietude, clear and free of storms or unpleasant change. This last definition deepens my thought about serenity.
Who has a life that is clear and free of storms or unpleasant change? No one. Yet serenity can be experienced as the calm eye within the chaotic storm, if we rest secure in the still center of God’s living presence. We live within the shadow of the Almighty, sheltered by the God who is above all gods. This I declare, that he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him (Psalm 91:1-2, TLB).
Bringing her home, I placed Serenity in the center on our ascending wall, resting secure beneath Healing at the Horse Farm (Sally Mitchell) and above Mother Nature (purchased from a local artist as a donation to Wellspring Living, a non-profit organization providing loving care for sex trafficking victims). We cannot stop, avoid, or erase the unpredictable storms or unpleasant changes of life, but we can rest centered in the sheltering serenity of God.
…Sue…
