"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death."
Romans 8:1-2
I am glad I took the time because the art always helps when thoughts are too big for my brain; when the ideas leap into my consciousness far too quickly to make sense of them. It helps me slow down and catch my breath.
It always amazes me how these come together, how random magazines contain everything I need to express a visual prayer. It's a subaudible language of a different kind learned through a walk with Jesus.
In the midst of it all, there are two things which stood out, the keys to the whole piece. They are the two children weighed down by heavy, overloaded backpacks.
The one on the left, with need as their burden, faces a storm of confusing, conflicting lessons about their place in the world. While it seems they carry the weight easily, backpacks have a way of getting heavier the longer they are carried.
But then there is always hope as personified by the child on the right.
"Love rejoices in the truth."
No matter how heavy our burdens, no matter how long we have carried them, no matter what is in the pack, truth will set us free. We need not be afraid or ashamed to give it all to God. Truth can only be found through honesty.
As I assembled the chosen images, I developed a richer understanding of how need has driven my choices, the good and the bad. Anyone in marketing knows this is the driving force behind everything. At its very foundation is the need to be loved and accepted.
But all marketing ads contain a whole slew of fine print underneath the huge picture of happy people who have used their product. That's where the adverse side effects and warnings are written in tiny, tiny print with the sole purpose of absolving any sort of liability by the advertiser.
The fine print is the subaudible of the advertising world.
Advertisers know if we are unhappy, we will look to their products for fulfillment so they work so hard to help us hate our selves, our lives, our homes, and even the people in it. They feed our sense of inadequacies with a rich diet of must have's, must do's and must be's.
The hard part is not falling for it. Especially if the lessons of the media have been reinforced through relationships, upbringing and culture. The subaudible talks to itself, bolstering the toxic words it never says.
Ah, but if we listen carefully, we can hear it. We can hear it when we look in a mirror. Chances are the mirror is not kind.
Who taught you this? What happened in the past that reinforced this idea? Where did you learn what beautiful is? Why do you believe it?
I'll steal the "when."
When I give it to God, the subaudible will be silenced and I can look upon my reflection and see the person God sees.
"Love rejoices in the truth."
Oh...wow..."beauty" as we know it is a man-made construct!
Now doesn't that idea rock my world...
As I read through what was written, as much as I was speaking with you, dear reader, I was speaking to Cricket, the child who has carried a heavy back pack for a long, long time.
And you, dear child, are far more beautiful than a mirror could ever show. You always were.
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