A Reason for a Picasso–Again

The other day I was reading about Moses, the part when God appeared to him at the burning bush. You probably know the story. If not, crack open your Bible to the book of Exodus and you will read about the commission God gave him to lead the Israelites–His people, out of slavery in Egypt, to the Promised Land. See God had compassion. He saw their suffering and was moved by it.  For brevity I will just say Moses did not feel qualified to communicate to the people or up to the task. He told God he couldn’t speak well enough. Yet, in Moses’ early days he was well educated and was quite competent. But–he had spent a lot of time out in the desert. Do you see where I am going with this?

Maybe your confidence and the skills that made you feel up to many jobs and tasks is at at ebb tide. Maybe that is because you  have spent some time in the desert of hardships.

Yesterday I looked at my personal photo that goes along with posts when I blog. I use a different photo on my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, and I think Gmail. But this was just a quick cellphone photo taken while I was still very much broken from hardships. I was in the desert.

In fact, I think I am still in the desert. But not like I was when the photo was taken. My life has changed so much and in so many ways. It is so hard to lose your spouse and the father to your kids–and the grandpa, etc. All the textbooks in the world can’t prepare a person for the experience; it is all so individualized or rather personalized. So, when you look at my photo, I think it may show that my confidence was shot–besides I really do not like have my photos taken–and it always shows. (photo below)

Earlier this year a couple of different photographer friends shot some photos that I could live with. I mean they did fantastic jobs–I just don’t like photos of me. I think the main difference to me from the previous shots to the new ones is the confidence I see in me in the shots (and of course the photographers and their awesome cameras).

After walking in the desert Moses did not “feel” qualified the same as he did earlier in his life. Yet God called him for a specific purpose–a huge one! I have been called to do the things I do and you are called to do the things you are meant to do. You may not “feel” capable anymore but you are probably more qualified than prior to your desert hardships.

Now, back to Picasso. As I looked at different women he had painted; I loved this one today. Her head is held high. Her neck is straight and I have a feeling she had her face to the wind. I know facing the wind is perceived as hardships. We all desire to only have a gentle breeze and sun on our faces but there is a thrill to walking in the wind ( I am coastal-can you tell?) The cool thing is her confident look–and of course the Picasso’s work and use of color.

If you have been “through it” know that you (and I am) possibly more qualified than ever. It’s not a time to give up. It is a time for a held high to carry out the plans for your life.

What do you think about the Picasso picture? About my thoughts?