30 Days and a Prepared Canvas

It’s been since last year since I have taken the time to sit down and post my thoughts…a month ago today. Today I am sitting with a beautiful fire in the wood burner and a blanket of snow outside our home. It’s beautiful, it’s quiet, it’s peaceful. It’s like getting an extra Sabbath day to just relax, reflect and recharge. Yes, I have had my computer on my lap much of the day but it’s been good. Stress seems to have been blanketed by the snow and the creative thoughts have begun to move again. There is a certain excitement which has eluded me for a time.

Just as the snow creates a new perspective it also creates a fresh canvas from which to work with. I didn’t say it was a blank canvas because it’s not. There are still marks, contours, rocks, shrubs and trees from all of the stuff before the snow. From the things which are still there…but have taken another role in the perspective of the canvas. I find this such a reflection of life. There are times when things happen which cause us to just stop and pause…and we can’t do anything about it. It may be cold and it may be frustrating because our plans have been forced to change…but when we stop and look around there is a certain peace which we can’t see in our busyness. As we look at the landscape around us we begin to notice things we overlooked before. Both good and bad things. The beauty of the trees and landscape can be breathtaking but we may also notice the dead tree which may fall at anytime and needs to be removed. Or maybe there is a wet spot in the yard which we haven’t noticed before but is a sign of a leak hidden deeper within. Just like the snow reveals those things previously overlooked….our loving God brings circumstances into our life which cause us to stop and pause and we can’t do anything about it. We need to take those times to relax and ask for a fresh perspective on life.To prepare the canvas of our life by examining the landscape of our life and look for those overlooked issues which need to be addressed. It may reveal pending danger or simply an area of our life where we are being drained and it is costing us way more than we expected.

Today I find myself a canvas prepared for fresh color from the Master…may this year reveal His majesty and beauty reflected through my life and the life of our family.