My ideal was to find a slim, beautiful, Israeli woman dancing in a flowing, colorful dress. Something magnificent to draw and color. In reality, I kept coming across REAL PEOPLE dressed in simple, sometimes not-too-attractive outfits. These women reminded me of myself: thick waisted, middle aged (or maybe older!), not necessarily beautiful. (Remember, I said they reminded me of myself!) But as I watched them dancing it began to dawn on me how shallow I was being. God sees beyond our outward package. He sees, in these women, hearts that are willing to worship Him, maybe in a way that makes one more vulnerable than many ways. I doubt that these women are trying to impress us with their outward appearances, rather they're hoping to teach us a new way to express our love for God through this lovely choreography. As I continued to watch I was drawn to the oldest woman in the group with her white hair in a bun. Isn't she beautiful? This is something to aspire to; to be actively worshipping God as we grow older. I would hope that our worship would become more and more concentrated on God and less aware of our selves.
I was reassured to know that no matter what our outsides look like, and the ravages of time will affect all of us, God sees our heart. Our spirit. Whether we are physically and mentally strong, or languishing in a nursing home with dementia, our spirit, if it belongs to Him, is safe. This has nothing to do with outward appearances. When He looks at our spirit, He sees Jesus who died for us.
So, I'm off, still in search of a subject for my artwork. (Will I never learn?) But I will continue to remember the lesson I've learned. Dance unto the Lord! He is worthy of our praise!
Shalom!
Capturing the movements and swirls of colours as the dancers move around can be very interesting! :-)
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