Sunday Devotional With Mr. E: HEAT

Heat is a funny thing in art.  There are many situations where heat is a good thing & necessary for the specific processes to actually come to fruition.  Glass, clay, bronze casting, enameling, and a host of other art forms would not exist without extreme heat.  However, heat (and lack there of) can also destroy some materials, change the consistency of the supplies, or cause stress on a work because rapid drying or cooling.  There has to be a familiarity with the media and how heat will impact it.  This knowledge will allow you to avoid temperature fluctuations that can delay, derail, or destroy your art making.  It is just another facet of what an artist must consider as they communicate through their creating.  

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's Power may rest on me.  That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

We get stressed.  We feel pressure.  We fall short.  Life has a way of turning up the heat on us.  Some seem to thrive when this happens.  Even if they "get burned", they seem to have an amazing resilience that allows them to bounce back quickly.  Others crumble when the struggles of life present themselves.  This is not a judgement call on any particular struggle. We all deal with things  in different ways.  Like heat...what seems like nothing for one, could ruin another. However, we must have an understanding of both our situation and where our strength comes from to be able to get through it.  Sometimes we deny that there is a struggle.  If we do not acknowledge the difficulties we face...we deny God the opportunity to be the Father, provider, and healer he wants to be in our life.  We must be real with what we are going through.  This is not just for our own sake.  Christians are too often characterized as hypocrites because we are unwilling to admit our pain, mistakes, and our struggles.  If we can confess our weakness to God and the world....we can begin to see his grace meet our needs & work through us to reach those he has placed in our path.