Artistry

My wife Elaine draws better than I do.  She can sketch houses and put the sun, complete with rays coming out of them.  She can draw rabbits and cats and a number of other things which you can actually identify after the fact.

When I draw things, it is usually tough to figure out what I've drawn.  (Maybe that's why she's so much better at Pictionary than I am).  I often try to sketch things for my patients to explain some medical thing, but I'm never sure if my drawings help. 

A picture may be worth a thousands words, but I'm afraid most of mine are only worth about twelve and a half.

If I am truthful though, neither one of us is a great artist.  Rembrandt and Michelangelo would have nothing to fear from either of us from an artistry standpoint (although Elaine can bake a far better pie than any of the Renaissance artists could have).

There are different levels of drawing and certainly I am closer to the bottom than the top.  At the same time, if I compare my abilities to my three year old, Victoria's abilities, I am an amazing artist.

I am afraid our human tendency is to compare ourselves to others who are worse than us and then to over value our own skills.  This can lead to the belief that we don't need God's guidance in our lives.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

What actually ends up happening in this situation is that we do our own thing until we run into trouble and then call on Him to bail us out.  Even if we don't get into trouble, we don't experience the blessings we would have following Him.

God is the master designer and architect.  He sees the future as clearly as He does the present.  He knows the end just as well as He does the beginning.  More than that, He knows the people that He wants you and me to become.

We won't get there by following our own way or believing our skills to be more than they are.  We will get there by placing our hand in the hand of our Father and walking with Him wherever He wants to go.