Now that I'm on vacation from school, I've got a chance to post some new artwork. The two bottom posts are the fruits of some abstract-art musings that have landed in one of my notebooks. The main post is a drawing I did in a notebook (which I've since lost!) during a live music performance in the student center at Denver Seminary. Rob Drabkin's his name. He sang with acoustic guitar, accompanied by a lead guitarist (the gentleman on the left). He also brought a killer live presence and was lots of fun to watch/hear. If you'd like, check out his website here or his bandcamp here.
I took the caption from one of the songs he performed, called "little steps," which he said was the first song he ever wrote. That whole concept of little steps, one's "first song," really stuck with me. "The day of small beginnings" (a frequent paraphrase of Zechariah 4:10), is often the most difficult yet, in retrospect, the most rewarding day of our lives. If I never begin my journey, I certainly won't reach the cherished prize at the end of it. I think the main reason I appreciate this thought is that, in my own spiritual journey, I've been feeling as though the entire last year or so has been one big "day of small beginnings." After so much effort and prayer and seeking, only now do I see clearly the direction in which God is leading me... Everything up until now has been a sort of training, yet only now do I realize that my training has just begun (and no, I don't mind sounding like a "Jedi").
YIKES! Ever feel like that? Like the further you go, the longer the road ahead appears? It's O.K. Heroic achievements often have the humblest of beginnings. It's a beautiful fact, and Christmas, at its roots, was designed to celebrate it. The concept of "incarnation" or "advent" means that the infinite, all-powerful God becomes finite and accessible by arriving as a human being... not a full-grown God-guy that drops from the sky but a REAL human being with a REAL human birth. The birth of Jesus Christ has been annually celebrated as "Christmas" for probably over 1,500 years by now (this past semester I took a class on Church history - fascinating!). Many Christians today actually don't celebrate Christmas because of various reasons, a discomfort with institutionalized religion among them. And, of course, most people think of Christmas as a chance to give and get some sweet presents while sucking down egg nog. But if you're reading this, whether or not you are a Christian and whether or not you celebrate Christmas, ponder this baffling, beautiful question: what could it mean for an infinite divine Being to become a finite human and interact with us?
That is, in my opinion, some pretty dense food for thought. Give it a go - I hear thinking actually burns calories! And do enjoy some festive calories during this holiday season! Happy New Year to you as well... Soon, I'll be back to post some portrait drawings and a couple ink drawings of birds. Later!
