My First Artist's Date by Melanie Fischer

This term "Artist's date" is new to me. It has never crossed my mind to set aside time to become artistically rejuvenated. Apparently it is important though, because the Lord has been relentlessly pursuing me with obvious intentions of lassoing my overactive mind.

Exactly one week ago today I predictably perched myself in front of my computer screen. I nestled into the carved out corner of my basement and blankly gawked at my computer. My hands could not bring themselves to type, yet they were obedient to the call of my coffee addiction as they raised an oversized cup of lukewarm java to my lips over and over again.

Still...there was nothing.

Life circumstances had sucked up every morsel of inspiration and motivation. My mind and heart were left emptier than my mug.

How could I just sit here and come up with nothing?

The phone then rudely interrupted my self-scolding session. An overly hyper voice caught me off guard. My good friend explained at mock-speed that she was on the other line with her travel agent booking us a trip to a hot destination. Funny how moments ago I had not a drop of imagination inside of me yet I could conjure up the most colourfully creative reasons why I could not take a holiday. Her refusal to accept "no" as an answer landed me on a Mexican beach four days later.

From a perfectly positioned cafe table in an all-inclusive resort I overlook a sandy beach into a distant mountainous backdrop as I chuckle at this month’s blog topic. The heat of the sun, song of an unknown bird, laughter of children on the beach and rushing of waves against the shore has managed to restore my soul.

I had no idea how empty I was until I became full again.

I am quite certain that this will not be a typical artist’s date, but at least now I understand the importance of having them.

Thank you Lord for clearing my busy calendar (and my busy mind) in order to gift me with my first of many artist dates.

True Brotherly Love - Bruce Atchison

We certainly live in a self-reliant culture. For example, people would rather drive than take the bus or walk. Many folks frown upon those who live on welfare payments. In my own experience, I've had friends avoid me after I've asked a favour of them for the second or third time.

On the other hand, I've striven to be as self-reliant as possible, even though I'm almost blind. This character attribute is good in moderation but it can cause us to miss out on being blessed by our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In December of 1977, I went on a short term missions trip with Operation Mobilization to the Mexican city of Saltillo. While there, we went door to door with tracts, held street evangelism meetings, and studied methods of spreading the gospel in foreign lands. From my upcoming How I Was Razed memoir, here's a vignette of how I nearly missed out on being blessed by a fellow Christian.

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Since the Americans and Mexicans did not celebrate Boxing Day, we resumed our usual routine. I was blessed again, this time by a kind deed done by a soft-spoken Mexican brother named Adin. "May I please wash your coat?," he beamed. "It looks a bit dirty."

"That's all right, I think it's clean enough."

"Please let me do this. It is my way of serving my fellow Christians."

As I was about to demur again, I suddenly realized that letting him help me would honour Christ. Apart from that, bright yellow tends to show the dirt quickly. I removed the contents of my pockets and handed the nylon jacket to him. As I watched, he rinsed it under a tap over a ceramic scrubbing board and poured a little laundry detergent powder on it. Then he laboriously scrubbed every inch of the coat, rinsed it under the tap, wrung it out thoroughly, and handed it to me. I thanked him several times for blessing me with his selfless act of service, feeling chided by memories of occasions when I forgot to express my gratitude.

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How I Was Razed is the testimony of the way I was mislead by a cult church, how I turned my back on God after I felt he perennially failed to heal my eyes, and how he graciously brought me to my senses.

My previous books, When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) and Deliverance From Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School), are now available online by clicking here or by clicking here to e-mail me directly.