I Have Quieted My Soul

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I Have Quieted My Soul
"It should have some gold in it," I thought as I looked at my nearly finished painting for today. I love to put iridescence, and sometimes my little symbol of three circles where I feel GOD is working in my painting. Not in the painting itself, but in the meaning of the painting. After adding the gold interference paint, I had to wash my hands again, because the iridescent interference paint is sticky and gets on everything I touch.

SOLD
11" x 14"
Painted with the finest quality heavy-body acrylic paint on acid-free, heavy weight Fabriano watercolor paper
Ready to frame

A few days ago, I started out to walk to our woods. The path is finally dry enough, and I no longer have to try to go through the pasture (which was quite a workout for me) to get to my 'happy place'. The temperature was perfect, the sun was shining, and there was a gentle breeze - perfect conditions for my time to walk in creation and be energized by my Creator. Except. Argh! Mosquitoes! We have such a plague of mosquitoes this year, that even though the path and weather and woods are all inviting, I had to turn around when I got there! I had a hoodie over my head, my hands tucked in the sleeves, long pants... still, those tormentors drove me back to the house. 

My recent study of inspiration and creative energy came to mind, and also this year's world events. As I worked on composition (vertical composition, obviously!) and color theory for this work, and was drawn to do a painting that reminds me of my time in the woods with my Creator, I also considered the plagues that were keeping me away. Flooding in the pasture, bugs, challenging terrain, and my own busyness remind me of storms, the virus, difficult cultural situations, and our distraction as a culture, and maybe as humanity. 

Before I even got to my chair for my Bible reading this morning, this Psalm came to mind.
Psalm 131 (Amplified Bible)
Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent].
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

I have thought about how a weaned child has lost a familiar comfort and is now having to depend on his provider in a new way. I don't like losing my comforts. I don't want to learn to depend on my Provider in a new way, but I am learning to quiet my soul and hope in Him. I hope that my time with Him is "sticky and gets on everything I touch."
Coram Deo. 

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