Having lived in Africa for most of my adult life, I have watched in awe as God painted glory after glory all around me. In Jos, Nigeria there were the hills, the volcanic rock formations, an unbelievable array of flowering trees and bushes, roses and daisies. In Niger we admired various views of the mighty Niger River, and on occasion amazing wildlife; elephants, hippos, crocodiles and giraffes. And in both of those countries we admired the noble, the stately bearing of beautiful Nigerian and Nigerien people–bearing surely the brightest smiles in the entire world. Now back in the United States, there are plenty of glorious sights to delight our eyes. Wherever we look we see that God has lavishly and intricately demonstrated His love for the world. So, I truly admire those who reflect His glory in the way they paint, in the way they painstakingly put on canvas their blessed view of this marvelous world. They keep my heart singing as they so freely share their joy in Him who makes all things well.

The glory of a painting,
The beauty we behold,
We sit and gasp and wonder
Or transfixed stand and stare,
This glory rises from the sum
Of every careful stroke,
Every dazzling pigment,
Each color mixed just right,
The grand within the background,
The particular in detail,
The spirit in the texture,
Emotion in the placement,
For where’er our eyes may focus
As we drink it in with wonder
The artist’s choice–to revel in her joy
As God’s glory is revealed.

M.S.
March 4, 2018

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness,
tremble before him, all the earth!
Psalm 95: 9