Umbrella Sky

You most likely have never heard of her (I know I didn’t before a few weeks ago), but Marta Dahlig is an amazing artist. Dahlig works with the digital medium of Adobe Photoshop (fancy, high cost art software) and creates strikingly beautiful images. Her work entitled “Umbrella Sky” features a young woman wearing a bold red dress and holding an umbrella. She sits on a rock with the sea as a backdrop, surrounded by floating goldfish. Don’t let the floating gold fish distract you. Trust me when I say the fantastical image is powerful. “Umbrella Sky” was chosen to be placed on the over of “Exotique 3”, a book showcasing some of the most gorgeous digital characters ever created. Not completely satisfied with her work despite this accomplishment, Dahlig recreated the original image. The new version has greater contrast, more character, and new features like a glowing fish traveling though the more detailed water. Where one person might be satisfied with his or her first attempt, Dahlig saw more potential. She could have sat back and absorbed her achievement. Instead, she strove to improve her work and detailed the process so that other artists might see the potential in their own efforts.
I really wish that I had the eyes of God. God is always able to see things as what they could be, and not simply as they are. I heard one individual say that the purpose of church is to show people what they can become through the grace of God. When Jesus first met Simon Peter, he knew that Simon had been impetuous, easily influenced, and cowardly. But, in John 1:42, Jesus says that he “will be called Cephas”. Jesus saw Simon as what he would eventually become, the rock. God saw a shepherd boy David as a king. Looking back in John 1, at verse 1:12, we learn that we have “the right to become children of God”. 2 Peter 1:4 says that we can “participate in the divine nature”. There are many other scriptures that speak of our potential. We are beautiful works of art, created in the image of God. Instead of being merely satisfied with our current state or being too critical of ourselves, we should strive to do great things. No matter how far we’ve come in life, we can always go further. The potential to do so lies in every one of us.

You Thought Boys Have Cooties?

I have to preface this week’s article by stating that my wife is probably the cleanest person I know. Not only does she practice perfect personal hygiene, but she tends to act as a reverse hurricane by leaving a wake of organization and bacteria free surfaces wherever she goes. This is, I digress, a significant contrast to my own filthy habits. I am improving daily (I even received a vacuum from Sara’s parents as a birthday present!), but I don’t think I will ever surpass my wife’s levels of tidiness. We are the competitive equivalent of a 3-year-old wearing water wings and a tube with a ducky head against Michael Phelps. It’s just not going to happen.
That said, I read a very interesting article today that states “Women carry more bacteria than men”. I put the quotes there so you don’t suspect me of paraphrasing. Though I am not skilled in the use of clothing irons and folding clothes might as well be complex origami to me, I carry less of a variety of bacteria than my female associates. Bacteria differ greatly from person to person, but women simply have more than men. Researchers aren’t entirely clear as to why this is the case, though some argue that men have more acidic skin than women. It might also be because of moisturizer and cosmetic product usage, differences in sweat and oil glands, skin thickness, or hormone production. Of 4,742 species of bacteria identified, only 5 were found on every one of the hands in the referenced experiment.
We have to recognize just how different that we are as individuals. No two of us is exactly alike. However, the Bible constantly stresses that we all need to get along. Ephesians 4:1-6 is just one of several passages in the Bible stressing unity. We have to show humility, patience, gentleness, and love in our interactions with others. There are people that we come across who seem to be more trapped in sin and more involved in evil deeds than we are and we judge them. However, we all of sinned and we all have a responsibility to be united in peace. We all have our own bacteria. Let’s wash them off.