A faded photograph ~

We were new in town, having come from a very warm and loving environment to a place where the climate was quite cold and some of the parishioners colder. I, as the new lady in the parsonage was a bit of a chew in that I wore jeans, had a sassy haircut, and just opened my arms to everyone, especially the man in the pulpit. I knew way too much about the ministry having lived in someone else’s house most of my life, with my daddy being a preacher man. . . I was about to be educated on a different plane.  There were about a dozen women in this church that had been hand picked by the pastor to represent ‘the preacher’s wife.’ His wife preferred a low profile and came to church seldom—she had no platform—she was the ‘perfect preacher’s wife.’ I’ve never been perfect and I’m rarely silent. I know you get the ‘picture.’ I found out my ‘sin’ was that I painted pictures ~ Oh, my!

… a woman asked me to have lunch with her and when we were seated in her very lofty, spiritual voice she began the conversation with these words: ‘How in the world can you be an artist and a Christian’? Needless to say I was stunned by her audacity; yet I gathered my wits about me and answered:  ‘Through art, God has placed people into my life that otherwise I would never have known…how better to be Jesus than by sharing something in common as a mode of travel from one heart to another’? I don’t remember her ever speaking to me again…she certainly never said..’let’s do lunch’…nor did she ever say; ‘let’s do church’…

We now live in our own house and I’m still painting and need I say, Jesus is still crazy about me ~ (pwoods)