Repainting

When I moved into my flat nine months ago, I took with me lots of paintings that I had done in the past, with the intention of putting them up somewhere.  Whilst I have done this with some of them, there was one that didn't seem to 'fit' in any room.

 

This was primarily because the sky in the picture was a really deep, vivid blue and the colours, in general, were quite bold.  The colours in my flat are quite subtle and subdued and it seemed garish in every room.

 

I had left it propped up  against the wall in my spare room and there it seemed destined to stay.  Until a conversation with a friend about it earlier on in the week, which drew my attention to it again.

 

We tried it out in each room, and it still didn't really 'go'.

 

Until yesterday morning, when I decided to repaint it.

 

It is still the same landscape and the same image.  But the sky is now a pale dusty blue and the harsh colours are softer.  The whole painting looks much gentler and calmer.

 

Before, it was dramatic and tense.  Now, it is peaceful and tranquil.

 

And it goes.

 

I was really pleased that I thought to repaint it, and I'm really pleased with the outcome.

 

And I found it really therapeutic, too, that idea of repainting the past.  The process of taking something old that didn't fit in any more, something which I didn't like as it was, and repainting it, making it new.

 

It is so easy to think that we are stuck with things that can't be changed: mistakes that we have made in the past, or lies that we believed, or people that we pretended to be.  We think that they are fixed and unchangeable.  But there is always the possibility of repainting the past.

 

The Bible says,

"God rewrote the text of my life

when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes."

         [Psalm 18:24 MSG]
 

 

I gave up a few hours to repaint the sky on a small canvas.  But God gave up His Son, so that anyone who wants to can be repainted too.

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

 

[2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV] 

 

 

Short-Term Memory and Cups of Tea

I have an awful short-term memory. 

When it comes to jobs I need to do, unless I write it down on something that I can't lose (usually my hand), I will immediately forget whatever it was.  There is not even a trace of the thought or an inkling in my mind.

This is most annoying for other people when they have asked me to do something and I completely forget.  I don't even remember until they remind me.  It would be annoying for me, too, but I never even remember that I have forgotten something ...

However, this isn't always bad news: it is a long-standing joke in my family that almost every time I make myself a cup of tea, I forget that I have made it.  Even if it is right next to me, if I am not looking directly at it, it is quite literally a case of "out of sight, out of mind."  Just as I start to think I really fancy a cup of tea, I turn around to be reminded that I have already made one!

I think I sometimes have a similar attitude with God.  I forget the little things that He has done for me - out of sight, out of mind - and I need to remind myself regularly.

I realised this when I came across an old journal the other day.  It was full of things that I was praying about and working through at the time, things that have now been resolved.  But until I found that book, I had completely forgotten that God had answered and resolved those prayers.

It was really special to read back over that journal and see the ways in which God has answered those prayers, even in the last few months. 

That's why, for me, it's so important to write things down - I don't want to forget what He has done, so that I don't forget what He is capable of.

I love this passage in the Psalms which reminds us to remind ourselves of what God has done -

"Once again I'll go over what God has done,

lay out on the table the ancient wonders;

I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished,

and give a long, loving look at your acts."

[Psalm 77:11-12 MSG]

Whilst I may have an awful short-term memory, God never forgets the promise and the covenant that He made with us:

           "He remembers, remembers his Covenant—

           for a thousand generations he's been as good as his word."

 

           [Psalm 105:7 MSG]

 

Let's remember to regularly remind ourselves and each other of what God has done (and continues to do), for us.

And if you ever want me to do something for you, write it down.

Shades of Sepia

I bought myself a new pair of sunglasses at the weekend. I always think the world looks better through sunglasses: the sepia tints soften harsh lines and give everything a golden glow.

When I look at the world through sunglasses and see everything shaded with sepia, I am reminded of old photographs.  Old photographs of distant family, or towns and cities in the "Olden Days".

There seems to have been an increased popularity in sepia toned photos lately: not just in the way photos can be edited, but in discovering and framing and selling old sepia photographs and recreating a 'vintage' feel.

I think we like sepia because we like to be reminded of the past.  Or, at least, to be reminded of what we think of as "The Past": a time when the world was safer, when people were kinder, and life was easier.

We are nostalgic about this imaginary past.

But, originally, the word "nostalgia" didn't mean a sad or painful longing for the past so much as a painful longing for home.  It was an extreme form of homesickness, a desire to return to the safety and comfort of home (The Greek word "nostos" means "to return home" and "algos" means "pain").

I think we all suffer from a kind of nostalgia; not so much a feeling of longing for the past per se, but a longing for home.  Our true home.

The Bible tells us that our true home is with God in His Kingdom. 

"You're no longer wandering exiles.  This kingdom of faith is now your home country."

[Ephesians 2:19 MSG]

But although we have a new home, we don't see or know or experience the fullness of it whilst we're still on earth.  And so we long for the day when it will be completed and everything will be made new.

"Look!  God's home is now among his people!  He will live with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever."

[Revelation 21:3-4 NLT]

Rather than looking back on "The Past" with longing, let's look to the future - to our real home - with longing and excitement and expectation.

"Look ahead with joy.  Anticipate what I'm creating: I'll create Jerusalem as sheer joy, my people as pure delight."

[Isaiah 65:18 MSG]

True nostalgia.