Journey of the Word

Cast away stones . . . pluck up what is planted . . . build up . . . embrace . . . sew  . . . hate . . . dance . . .

The word pictures had been playing games in my head for days, and I wasn’t sure what to do with them.

So I grabbed my colored pencils.

Now, I’m no artist. I leave that to my graphic-design brother and my baby sister who takes after him. Me? I grab a scrap piece of paper, embrace the world of stick figures, look up online clip-art for reference, and sketch away, mega eraser in hand.

Because the point is not that I create something magnificent and frame-worthy. The point is that I internalize. Marinate. Meditate. Worship.

So, to give you a “for example” . . .

Now, you should know:
1) Some of this drawing is laughable, so please laugh.
2) This exercise is most powerful to me, not you, because I’ve spent the last four months studying Ecclesiastes and the last two weeks memorizing 3:1-8. This is the overflow of days and weeks of wrestling with the text, discussing it with others, memorizing, meditating, and enjoying these truths. There are bucket loads of significance in this little piece.
3) When I say “an evening with my pencil jar” . . . okay, so this took a whole evening. And I absolutely challenge you to give yourself this kind of time now and then. But when there isn’t time, take the time you have. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It’s what it does to your heart and mind that matters.
4) If I can do this, you can do this.

 [photo credit: unsplash.com, journeyoftheword.com]