better late than never

it's late. i'm up and in pain waiting for the meds to kick in. this evening an dear friend arrived at my in-law's winery and called me out to say hello. she reminded me of how much has happened creatively since we had last seen each other. and i saw that despite all of this rediculous pain, God has produced so much growth. like a green shoot arising from concrete or reaching the peak after a long, difficult climb (you climbers know what i mean). i was able to receive a great deal of perspective while realizing that the only momentum i've gained couldn't have been pushed forward without the quiet of being saturated in prayer, contemplation on how the Bible applies to real moments in life and a whole lot of support. i have not been regularly blogging as sitting up has become difficult, but it needed to happen tonight. so, appropriate for the season, i am thankful for the ability to use the creativity i've been created with to...well...create...even if it's something as small as a paper bird.
what have i been up to the past six months? well, healing both physically and in every other respect...coming down with some large haematobic ovarian cysts plus preparing for what we really hope will be the last surgery to remove that ovary... and really trying to understand what it means when God's Word says that He promises to be faithful to complete a good work He begins (i.e. the hope+healing project) and that He promises to work every situation out for good. these words are no longer cliche's to me...they are very real and living. in the last six months over 50 paper birds have been created, i received beautiful photographs from mary spears which will accompany several paintings (a friend has graciously offered to adhere them to boards and hang the work for me until i am able to do more physically), applied for and recieved a wonderful spot to exhibit work on the art wall at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise in March, and have been developing ideas for what the differing ages of children in pediatric hospitals might enjoy and be most encoraged by...paper bird mobiles for infants, paper flowers for caregivers, dolls for kids, small pieces of fine art and screen printed pillows for older ped. patients. all of this quiet has given way to a lot of inspiration. all of this quiet gives way to an openess to more ideas...plenty of which He wants to show us if we can be quiet for long enough to let them shine through. i pray that in the future i will carve out more moments of quiet without the need to be reclined in pain to do so. thank God for his mercy at present! :D