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Saturday, May 03, 2008, 3:00 AM
Faith leads to a different kind of sight Rev. Annie Plotts | Associate Pastor First Presbyterian Church I have recently rediscovered a love of the visual arts - painting, drawing, working with clay, and playing with pastels. This love was first discovered in high school when I had to take an art class, which I fought the whole way. I am not an artist. I cannot draw. I don't know what I'm doing. I may have had to take the class; but going into it, I was determined that I did not have to like it. But funny thing, as the semester wore on, I found myself enjoying what I was doing. I found myself looking at the world differently, seeing things as I had never seen them before. I vividly remember a car ride with my family and staring at the trees on the Texas roadside. I could suddenly see the subtle changes of green and yellow in a single tree. Light danced on the wildflowers in the fields. I was able to see in a new way because the techniques I learned and practiced in art class took me beyond my preconceived notions, helping me to look at what was really there, not what I thought was there. By turning a picture upside down and then drawing it, I paid attention to line and space instead of telling myself I needed to draw a realistic looking chair. Rendering a subject in pen and ink made me look at the true form and not depend on color to show the subject matter. The gospel of Mark tells the story of the healing of a blind man (3:22-26). The man's friends bring him to Jesus, begging Jesus to touch him. So Jesus spits into his hands and then places them over the man's eyes. When asked, "Can you see anything?" the man tells Jesus that he sees people but they look like trees walking. So Jesus once again places his hands over the man's eyes, this time completely restoring his sight. I think that the life of faith is the gradual gaining of sight so that we may truly see who Jesus is and how life is meant to be. This renewal of vision is not of our own making but a gift of God. And yet, just as practicing various artistic techniques can help us see the world in a new way, there are spiritual practices that will open our eyes to the Holy One. So what are these spiritual practices? Devotional Bible reading, worship together with a congregational family of faith, prayer, Bible study and works of service are just a few. I'm reminded of the hymn "Take Time to Be Holy." "Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord; Abide in Him always, And feed on His Word. Make friends of God's children; Help those who are weak; Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek." In so seeking, our Lord opens our eyes, helping us to see in new ways. And what an exciting journey of discovery it is and will continue to be!
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