The Offering

I have mentioned many times that my art students bless me more than I could ever hope to bless them, and that happened again yesterday. One of my young students is very quiet, very careful and methodical with her work, and one year took nearly the whole semester to finish one little painting for her grandmother. I have learned never to push her to work too quickly because her rhythm of life would be too disturbed by that kind of pressure. She is so quiet and undemanding, she could be easily overlooked in my bustling, boisterous class.

Recently, she came to me at the end of class and showed me artwork she was doing during the church sermons. She listens (I am certain very carefully) and draws. She showed me page after page of lovely landscape paintings. This is the child who did one painting for 3 months? She is apparently churning them out, from the quiet but deep center of her being. Suddenly, not only does she seem to have found artistic confidence and a technique she loves, but something creative inside her is begging to be let out.

Yesterday, her sweet mother dropped off a bag of dogfood donation for Hollow Creek Farm, and we chatted a while. I mentioned her daughter's sudden outpouring of beautiful landscape paintings.

"She does those in church," answered her mother, "Last week, when the offering plate was passed, she had finished one and put it in the offering plate."

I hope the church recognizes what a treasure they received. I hope they understand that there was no greater tribute to God this child could have offered. I hope they see her mature comprehension that God gave her talents, and now she returns them to Him. And I hope when they are in a back room, counting the checks and lift this beautiful picture, they all gather around in awe, smiling in the presence of pure love, a pleasing and fragrant sacrifice.

Ephesians 5:2
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.