Where Are You Looking?
by Malcolm Wood
Recently I attended an Ellel Creative Inspirational Painting week at Blairmore House. Having dabbled from time to time in the past with watercolours, I thought it was time to discover how it should be done properly! I must admit that I approached this time with a certain amount of apprehension, because, when it comes to applying paint, I feel far more comfortable wielding a four inch emulsion brush than a thin artist’s brush, with barely visible bristles.
During the week I learnt how much I didn’t know about watercolour painting, and began to appreciate that there’s a lot more to producing a successful picture than just putting paint on to paper. Things like preparation, planning, mixing colours, direction of the light, correct colour tones, line of sight, focal point, perspective, and of course the artistic ability to translate what the eye sees on to the paper, are all necessary to make a perfect picture.
Whether in the coming days I shall be able to appropriate all that I learnt and produce a satisfying result remains to be seen!
While reflecting on that week I thought about perspective and how important it is to look at things from the correct point of view. If the perspective in a picture is not as it should be the whole picture is affected and looks out of balance and awkward.
That is often the case in life. We tend to look at things from the wrong perspective and consequently see the whole picture from the wrong angle, and in the wrong light. We can so easily be concerned with our own issues, problems and concerns that we miss out on what God really wants us to see and enjoy. He wants us to look to Him first and learn to look at things as He sees them, from His perspective.
The two disciples walking to Emmaus on that first Easter Day (Luke 24:13-34) were so taken up with their own issues - their doubts, fears, and anxieties - that they missed the fact that the person walking with them was Jesus, their risen Lord. It’s interesting that they were kept them from recognising Him (verse16). There are other places in Scripture where God prevents people from seeing the obvious. I believe that it’s not until God knows we’re ready to see and handle the reality that He’ll reveal things to us. In the case of the two at Emmaus it was only when Jesus broke the bread, and they saw His hands, that they were in a place to see and understand the truth. What an impact that revelation had on them! With no thought of the lateness of the day, or the fact that they had only just travelled the seven miles from Jerusalem (remember there were no cars or buses), they returned to share their experience with the other disciples (verse 33). I don’t think anyone in that group got much sleep that night!
As the song says ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of his glory and grace’. It doesn’t say the things of earth (the problems of life) will disappear, but that they will be seen in a different light - from a different perspective.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Please forgive me for the times I miss out on the things you want me to see because I’m not always ready to see things as You see them. Please help me to keep my eyes on You. Amen.
Malcolm Wood and his wife Anna became part of the Ellel family as House Managers at Ellel Grange in 1990. Since then they have been involved with many aspects of the developing Ministry. From 2001 until 2015 they were Directors of Ellel Scotland where they hosted several International Schools and Operation Blairmore and helped pioneer the exciting Creative Inspiration Weeks. They have three sons.
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