Be Not Idle

Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? (…) For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. - excerpted 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

On this feast day celebrating Your Triumph on the Cross, Lord Jesus, thank You for sharing the frailty of humanity, and for sharing Your strength with us.

Life is short… and art is short.

Before the workers came to install a new sliding glass door, I had to make room for them to work. I took down the vertical blinds. I also moved a free-standing corner shelf.

The shelf worried me. It held a number of ceramic pots containing bamboo, aloe vera, and the ubiquitous philodendron. (I have a theory that all the philodendrons in the area are the offshoots of cuttings taken from one generous, green-thumbed resident of Marine City, Michigan.)

I was nervous when I moved this plant stand, afraid I’d break something in transit. But it stood steady near the stove, out of the way of the work.

That is, until I had to get a glass of water.

Every one of my creations broke, leaving only a store-bought milk-glass compote and a glass frog (a circular glass plate with holes for plant stems).

Was I sad that I lost all the hard work? Sure.

But I wasn’t hurt. (Shocking, I know.) And the aftermath has been positive. With the shelf now empty, I got the idea of taking it to work to serve as a office supply station (works beautifully). With nothing in that corner of the kitchen, more light comes through the new door.

If I wish, I can make other bowls and vases. And I’ve gotten better, so the new will be more beautiful than the old. Unless I drop them….eek!