Painting an Old Daydream

I believe that creative ideas reside in your head until you express them.  I got the chance to execute a twenty-year-old idea when our pastor asked me to create some pieces of art illustrating the "art of the heart," a series of sermons on following the passion God has put in you to serve His greater plan or purpose for your life.  When he asked me about it, this old idea came to me instantly. 

When my kids were small I worked night and weekend jobs so that they wouldn't need a sitter for more than a few hours a week.  I was a janitor at our local high school, where evening hours alone allowed many ideas to play in my head.  One was a bird's eye view of the big cafeteria floor I mopped every night.  Dreaming of the day I'd be a full-time artist, I imagined that the mop was a giant paintbrush and instead of mopping, I was painting the floor in broad swoops of color.   These daydreams made the nights go faster, and allowed the sweet nectar of creativity to fuel my dreams of one day being able to paint for a living.

When I finally painted this idea as a tangible representation of that long ago dream, the reality of where my life has gone since those days fills me with gratitude.  Painting is the way I respond to and how I express my appreciation for the world around me.  Painting to me is a prayer, a connection to God, the Great Creator, and He definitely guides my hand, head and heart in the paintings that sing.  Earning income on it allows me to do it more often than when I worked a conventional job, but I'd do it regardless of whether I could make a living on it.  Charles Russell said, "Having talent is no credit to its owner."  That passion that spurs talent and develops ability is a gift from the Lord.  The time and work you put into following that passion, regardless of your present circumstances, expresses its priority in your life and the knowledge that you were meant to share this gift- whether it's music, writing, culinary arts, theater, or visual art- with the world.

I'm thankful that God found a way to get that old idea out of my head and onto canvas, and that in thinking about it I'm reminded of how long His plan for me has been in action, even back when I thought maybe it wasn't.  I will work to see, respect and respond more quickly to those little bits of Divine inspiration.

You can hear the "Art of the Heart" series in September at Sheridan Wesleyan Church, Sundays at 8:30 & 11am.  Or listen online at www.sheridanwesleyan.org.