Dearest Community,
I have learned some things from sketching during the pandemic. One lesson is to celebrate the weird wonky lines that sometimes come from my pen. These lines makes the sketch more alive and vibrant. Through following other artists and sketches on social media, I’m reminded that we aren’t trying to recreate a photograph – cameras are better at that. The sketching, drawing, painting, creating art is supposed to be fun and child-like.
Perhaps that is what Jesus is getting at when saying, “unless you become like a child, you’ll have a hard time entering the Reign of God.”
The Reign of God is full of eccentric child-like people. People just like you and me. There is an authenticity as we attempt to live lives based on Shalom. Shalom as peaceful wholeness for all. This is completely different than some sort of external performance-based perfection. We are not robots nor some cogs in a larger machine. We are reminded that we are people – God’s beloved people, called to share that alive belovedness with others.
We enter with a sense of wonder and awe and humbleness. A wonder and awe and humbleness that the Divine is at work in our very own lives. A wonder and awe and humbleness that the Divine is at work in the lives of others. There is a large humbleness in realizing that as much as we want to be in charge of our own stories – we really only get to be in charge of our responses. We certainly cannot be in control of others. All we can do is bear witness to each other’s stories, speak out on their behalf and recognize their own autonomy.
In so doing, may we bear witness to how the Divine One is using each of our weird and wonky lines to create vibrant art of a new way of being in the world, a new reign based on Shalom. May it be so.
Blessings to each of you,
Rev. Joel
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The art for the thumbnail and this post is from Rev. Joel’s Instagram feed: Rev.Joel’s_art. Feel free to give the feed a like and a follow.
Joel is currently using the Moleskin Art Collection Sketchbook and the Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketcher’s Pocket Box set with the Pentel Water Brush. Joel is also using an Extra Fine nibbed fountain pen (a Wing Sung 698) with deArtimentis ink.
If you’d like to see the go-to art supplies Rev. Joel is using as he started his second sketchbook of 2021, check this link: Current Art Supplies (7 Aug 2021).
If you’d like to see what Rev. Joel started the year using for art supplies, check this link Collection of Art Supplies at the Beginning of the Year (2021).
The above links are affiliate links (manly through Blick Art Materials) for your convenience. If you were to purchase something by following the links, we would get a small commission at no extra expense to you. Thank you for the support.