Just a thought by coppi

Proverbs 17:3 -The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts. Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart. As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan, so our lives are assayed by God.

Because God loves you, you can show your trust in Him by talking about all your feelings and circumstances with Him — the good and hard — through prayer. Don’t let your emotions rule your life; bring them to God so He can help you address them. He is not disappointed or frustrated by your struggles, doubts or pain.

People have always interested me. When studying art in Dallas, Tx, one of our assignments was to go to a place where people were moving around. I spent time at the zoo in Ft Worth, Tx,  and the Galleria in Dallas, Tx. I enjoyed drawing people wandering around looking at animals at the Zoo and shoppers at the Galleria.  I wanted to capture their mood and actions at that moment in time. I also spent time going to homeless shelters and the “not so swell” places in Dallas, Tx. When I was going through treatments for cancer and driving to Gainesville, Fl every month and sometimes days we, ( my bestest friend, Diana Stinson would go with me, I can’t say enough about Diana.  She was someone that encouraged me and kept prayers flying my way), would encounter different ones in the hospital and listen to their reasons for being there.  We learned a lot about the trials of life. We would try to bring hope and laughter in their sad lives.   When we were in the infusion room, we would (if it was around a Holiday) dress for the occasion. Christmas time we wore caps with rain deer horns with lights beaming brightly, etc. if anyone received a good report, we would ring a bell and all in the “drip” room would clap.  I made note of their body language and faces. It was a remembered part of my art assignment given to me years ago.

One of the most radical demands for you and me is the discovery of our lives as a series of movements or passages.  It seems as though we are always passing from one phase to the next, gaining and losing someone, some place, something.  Life is a cycle of happenings good and bad. We can either buckle under them, or move forward with hope pulling us forward on this journey in life.   And, who is our Hope?  Mine is Jesus and His promises in the Bible.  Life is full of choices.  We are free to make our own choices.

Just a thought by coppi