By Faith

I visited the methane pipes that I will be turning into giraffes as part of the Public Art Greenway Project. I wanted to see exactly what I had gotten myself into. Asherel came along and dressed Honeybun in her purple sweater as it was a little nippy outside. The pipes were shorter than we had initially thought, which made me happy, as that means if I fall off the ladder, I could conceivably survive. We then went to the community center where my supplies were stocked and picked out the paint colors. We hope to begin painting today.

I like whimsy and this is just the sort of whimsical task that will brighten my world. With my brother-in-law's death on the day of the Boston bombing, and the past week of awful events, it has been somber around my home and America. I like to think that a brightly painted methane pipe, made to look like a giraffe might bring a smile to someone who is overburdened.

Our pastor didn't speak directly yesterday about the Boston horror, but he did talk about how we who know God should never succumb to worry. We began our journey walking with God by faith. That is how we should continue, and how we should end. It is by faith we have been saved and by faith that we should live. I felt, as I often do, the peace of God fall over me as I considered the gentle pillow of faith. In a world that seems out of control, God is still there. When what we see before us is unbearable, we must walk by faith, not by sight. What matters is that *He* sees where it is all leading. He has shown me time and again that I can trust He is good, so where He is leading me must be Good as well. Perfect faith squashes fear.

Having never painted a methane pipe or large cement structure before, it is also by faith that I take my paints and head off to the Greenway. I see a giraffe every time I look at the methane pipes, though my less artistic friends tell me not everyone does. I hope children pass by while we are painting and the bright colors make them smile. Maybe someone who is hurting will even laugh that an ugly, deadly gas pipe could become something so gentle and comical as a purple and yellow giraffe. Maybe it will plant a seed that beauty and hope can emerge from ugliness and despair.

Hebrews 11:8,32-34,39-40 (NIV)
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. [32] And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, [33] who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, [34] quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. [39] These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, [40] since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.



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