Blog Archives

BURRO'S REPRISE

6/25/2022

I love the songs in Scripture. They have bound up wounds and resuscitated my weak heart when the burden was more than I could bear. We’d all be amazed to find out what’s covered up and bound to our backs. There are many loads, sometimes just an extra bag, that has sent this burro’s knees to the dust. It’s at this point I can’t seem to remember anything I’ve learned. I can’t see, get up, or even take another controlled breath.

But here is where the lyrics of songs and laments have made their way into my soul reminding me of what is true. Songs have such a unique way of speaking hard things into deaf ears. And like these light, provision-loving birds, a song will land and awaken what seems dead and show me where my rest is found.

A reprise is the repeated part of a song that seems to be so necessary to sing one more time if I’m to find my way.

“I have forgotten what happiness is. My endurance has perished; so has my hope. Remember my afflictions and my wanderings... My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end. The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3, paraphrased)

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

6/12/2022

What an unlikely pair, these two. One might think there’s nothing in common between this fierce brute with his horns and hard head and those flighty birds who seem quite a nuisance. But truth is their best life is in the company of the other. Here they set the terms of their journey together: One taking care of threatening invaders while the other provides the makeup of a nest. One kicking up the insects for dinner while the other cleans the coat. Seems like thriving on the plains requires opposites appreciating and gleaning from the strengths of the other.

I considered choosing a name for this piece from a list of dear friends I’ve had the privilege of knowing closely over the years -—people who were very different from me at the onset but proved to be the most amazing companions. I figured if I did use names, it would be a messy job clarifying who was the bison and who was the bird.

TRAGEDY TO TAPESTRY

6/11/2022

Lament the beautiful wanderer, weighted by her own wool. Tangled and matted with bits of everything she fumbles through. Can’t cut loose by her own will. Cries still. Stuck until a shepherd finds her at a low and hidden place. Clears her face. Shears all the waste. Again. He piles the wool until the floor is full, then begins to clean and pull every little strand. Running across his weathered hand. Twisting and turning all that was thick into thin. Redeeming again what would have surely brought her death. Now into warp and weft. Weaving line and order form what once had destroyed her into a garment to cover. A tapestry of color. (Isaiah 61:3)

TERRITORY

6/6/2022

Occupying a territory up to a half-mile in diameter, the male and female Greater Roadrunners will defend their home turf together against the fiercest of predators. That’s a lot of ground to cover, enough to put their speed and intelligence to the test daily. And their defense is fierce, beating their foes against a rock until it poses no more of a threat. This couple’s tactics are far from couth.

That’s why I’m a bit biased toward this desert bird. Their protective ways make others feel uncomfortable, but they offer no apologies. Unrefined? Yes, but never misunderstood. These black and white creatures are quick to call a spade a spade. They don’t make a lot of chit-chat, but reserve their coos for declaring where the territory lines lie, and then... defend it to the death.

Dear trespassers, see all those rocks? Your days are numbered.

BEHIND THE WORK

BURRO'S REPRISE

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

TRAGEDY TO TAPESTRY

TERRITORY

WORKS ADDED

Art

Design

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