Standing Behind the Canvas- Day 3: Abide With Me

We were gone most of the day yesterday, so I never got a chance to sit back down to continue recounting the ways that God has been active lately.  Hence, I'm calling this Day 3!

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know that I'm learning to play the trombone in the beginning band that we joined this year.  I sit between a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old and battle my way through each new piece the band director brings to us.  Despite the humbling nature of being a complete beginner, it has been great fun learning to play a new instrument.  I'm still not very good, but once in awhile a sound comes out that could roughly be called music.  I guess that means I'm making progress!

As we approached our most recent concert, the band director asked me to play with the intermediate band because he needed some lower instruments to fill out the sound.  I believe that the Lord providentially led him to choose the hymn "Abide With Me" as one of the pieces we played.  I have loved that hymn for many years, and the director crafted a beautiful arrangement that had a prominent trombone part in one section.

Isn't it just like the Lord to bathe my soul in the balm of a beautiful hymn as I labored to learn that trombone part?  I was the only trombone, so it needed to be mellow and clear.  The part was high and difficult for me, and I had to work incredibly hard to play some of the notes.  Consequently, I spent a good bit of time practicing that particular piece.

As I struggled to make it sound beautiful, I heard the words of the hymn over and over:

Abide with me, fast falls the even-tide.
When darkness deepens, Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fade and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Believe it or not, the hardest notes for me were at the line, "When other helpers fade and comforts flee..."  As I played those measures over and over trying to get the notes exactly right, the Lord played that lyric over and over in my mind.  I don't think there was a single child in that band that knew the words to the song, but I did, and God brought comfort each time I played it.

"Help of the helpless, O abide with me."

As I stand behind the canvas, I see the Artist move His hand once again, still painting a picture I can't see, but all the while creating a masterpiece of His own design.  Ah, but the point is that His hand did move, and as He painted, I heard Him sing softly to me.

This time it sounded a bit like a trombone.

Standing Behind the Canvas- Day 2: The Amazing, Empty Ink Cartridges

I wrote yesterday that our life the last few months has been a bit like standing behind a canvas while an artist paints a picture on the front of the canvas.  You can see the artist's hand move, but you have no idea what he's painting.  In the same way, we can see God's hand moving right now, but we have no idea what the final picture will look like. At some point, He'll turn the picture around and we'll see that all the recent grays have added depth and texture to a beautiful masterpiece.

It is my hope to share a few of the ways we've seen God's hand move lately.  While we may not know what His plan is, we do know He is active.  That by itself is a great comfort.  He hasn't left us off.

So today, I start with a story of miraculous provision.  There is nothing in the world that will ever convince me that this event isn't an absolute miracle.

A couple of weeks ago, my printer ran out of ink.  It was bone dry, and the things I printed were completely blank.  For a couple of weeks, I tried to make do without any copies, but last Monday I just needed to make some copies for the kids for our school.  I haven't had the money to replace the ink cartridges, so I just stood beside the printer and asked the Lord to give me just a few copies-- enough to get through the week.

And then I started to copy.

And copy.

And copy.

At last count, I've made about 170 copies.  With empty cartridges.

I just kept copying ahead for the next few weeks figuring that the ink would run out eventually.  It hasn't yet.

The kids keep coming in and saying incredulously, "Is it still making copies?"

Over the whirr of the printer, the only words I can hear are, "Bless the Lord, O my soul."

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

And the Artist's hand moves again.

Standing Behind the Canvas- Day 1

It's been awhile since I shared anything on this little blog of mine.  I'm still here plodding away, but some days are so full of busyness and strain that I can hardly find words.  I do know that God is active, and I praise Him for giving grace to move on through each day.  I record His blessings every day in my journal, but I decided that I'm also going to spend the next week sharing a few of them here too.

The last several years have been really tough, yet we've watched the Lord do great things.  Even though we don't see the road ahead very clearly, we do know He's active.  That is a great comfort.

The only way I can describe it is this:  Our life right now is a little like standing behind a canvas instead of in front of it while a painter paints.  You see the painter's hand moving, yet you have no idea what he's painting.

So this week I'm going to try to share some of the ways I've seen the Painter move His hand recently.  I have absolutely no idea what His picture will turn out to be.  I can't even begin to imagine.

And my hope in all of this uncertainty?

I know that whatever He's painting, it will be beautiful.