Year like fresh piece of paper

It is here, a new year, with new opportunities and fresh possibilities. It is similar to a fresh sheet of drawing paper, as yet unmarked. How will we start it? What will be our style, color scheme, medium? What if we ruin it? Will fear of making a mistake prevent us from living fully into the possibilities?

As students in the Fine Arts department at WSU, we were trained to prepare before we started a drawing, having supplies and subject, time set aside to start, being in a comfortable position. All of which are practical preparations, none of which provided the creative idea which would eventually emerge from the paper. Getting everything ready was similar to how we prepared during Advent, now comes the time when we actually put the mark on the paper. We have done all the preparation; it is “time for action.”

The action, depending on the medium, may be tentative, but the time comes when you move ahead boldly and trust that the final product will be more than you ever imagined. As you commit to the project there is always reworking going on — perhaps this line was too bold, balancing in another section, watching and working as it evolves into its own unique work.

There may be times when it is necessary to step back and come at it again from a new perspective, that ability to remove yourself from your point of focus and come back into the “whole picture.” When we get caught up in one section, the whole piece becomes unbalanced; it just doesn’t work any more.

As we look at our ministries, it is important to step back, refocus and see how we can draw the whole, work with and use the strengths of each component, not forgetting or ignoring that which is not our main focus. It does not need to be the center of the ministry but it is a part of the picture and we need to figure out how all of these parts work to support each other and create a true masterpiece.