A GLIMPSE OF A FINER WORLD by Lynn Downham

As I’m flying around this morning, trying to organize personal chaos, demands, chores, responsibilities, through physical pain, I hear the strains of a song from our new neighbor’s porch about, “holding on during the storm,” and I smile, thinking even though I’m running around like Puck in Shakespeare’s “Midsummer’s Night Dream” quoting, “I go, I go, look how I go! Faster than arrow from the Tartar’s bow!”, I can STILL glimpse the divine, the eternal and my own “thing” I’m trying to get to! I’m talking, of course, of our individual “gifts” from God, that thing that you and I do that is going to make a difference in this world for God and His kingdom.

I, you, we, are surrounded by chaos and peace at the same time in this world and I can’t imagine a world where peace and order rule instead of peace and chaos. But to those who know the God of the Bible, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, it is possible to not only glimpse this future world that is coming, it is also within us to share a glimpse of this coming world with the unbelieving and with fellow believers. We, as humans, do not know who will be saved and who will not, and that is not our job. Our job is to live our lives in front of all as bearers of the truth and light of Jesus and pray for all to come to faith in Him. God has specifically gifted each soul with something special to share and we are to let NOTHING get in the way of our sharing this with whomever we are to share it with.

Take a good look back at history and you find that the great artists, composers, inventors, and writers were all surrounded by political upheaval and burdened with personal trials themselves. They saw what was going on and got back to work so they could accomplish what they were here to accomplish. We will do the same!

Take a deep breath, wake up with God, put your armor on, pray without ceasing, stay in the Word and do your best to have a good day! God gives us grace for each day. I’m going to take mine, (the grace!) and get busy! I am now working on the Hebrew tree which is the Tree of Life or Jesus Tree done for the second time, but this time with the transliteration of the names for the Jewish people. Lord willing, I will finish this drawing, paint it, and find someone to do the calligraphy. I do not think my hand is steady enough to do the calligraphy anymore, (in ink!). Pray for me, brothers and sisters! I’ll be praying for you!

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”

(1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NKJV)

Lynn Story Downham is a fourth generation artist who returned to North Carolina in 2014 after twenty-six years on the Florida panhandle. Her seventh family tree commission was for a “family tree for Jesus.” Twenty years later she is a bornagain believer with a best-selling print, a beautiful family and a passion for sharing Christ through her art.

Lynn Downham