Different Perspectives

It was my volunteer day at the nursing home to teach art to my loyal band of residents.  I taped our prompt picture on the wall -- a beautiful "cloudscape." A few gasped, and as usual, one said, "Oh I can't draw." I assured them (as always) that using pastels, anyone could create beautiful clouds. The one who insisted she couldn't draw, worked diligently, but frequently noted that she couldn't draw and that perhaps I was wasting my time with her. She told me she was 97-years-old. She still had streaks of dark hair in her peppered grey coif.
"Sometimes people don't believe me since I'm not totally grey," she confided.

I showed them the step-by-step procedure and as always, they did far better than they expected. As they cleaned up and were preparing to leave, I sprayed each pastel with fixative so it wouldn't smear, and put it on the seat of the walker of those who had walkers so they wouldn't leave it behind.

As one of them started to walk away, I noticed she had left her picture. She was across the room. I held it up and called her name, "You forgot your picture!"
She glanced over.
"That's mine?" she asked.
"Yes," I said laughing.
"It's...beautiful."
"It sure is. Pastels are meant to be viewed across the room."
She returned and took it from me, perhaps with a little more care than she had initially shown.

As the others filed out, the 97-year-old who "couldn't draw" came to me and asked, "What do you call those chalk things we used?"
"Pastels."
"So if I want to purchase some, that's what I'd ask for, pastels?"
I smiled, "Yes. You want to get your own set, now?"
"Yes, yes I do," she said.

There are three immediate principles that God demonstrated to me as I pondered the events of my art class morning:
1. Usually when we say we "can't" what we sometimes mean is we "haven't been successful yet." There are certainly things that will be beyond our grasp, but sometimes we defeat ourselves. Of utmost importance, if God urges us to do something, "can't" should be stricken from our vocabulary. What He asks of us, He will equip us to do.
2. The long view, in the distance, is sometimes the very best way to consider events. When we are too close or in the messy close proximity, we can easily lose perspective. God's plan is sometimes best viewed when we are removed from it by time and distance. Then we can often see a beauty revealed we had no idea was there.
3. What we thought was the very thing that was impossible, becomes the very thing that delights us when we struggle and obtain victory.

Always try to do what is asked of you. You might be surprised that you can.
Step back before judging the value of any struggle. It looks different the further you are from it.
Delight in unexpected treasures that ensue.
Keep an eternal perspective.

"What will you do with that cloud picture you drew?" asked one resident of me. (I always do a step-by-step demo for the group and they follow along, using my own drawing as a guide.)
"Often I give it away," I said, "And usually I go home and work on it more. Several hours more, in fact. This is just a quick framework to help you. To create my best, I have to spend a great deal more time and effort."

When I got home, I hung my sketch on my easel, and set out my pastels. I worked on it a little more, and left it up so I can dabble over the week when I have snatches of time. I went across the room to begin dinner preparations, and glanced at my cloudscape.

Hmmmm. It looks so much better from a distance, I thought.
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2 Corinthians 4:18
 “While we look at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”