"Trust Me!!"

Art is usually handled with white cotton gloves, kept in humidity controlled conditions, and treated with a great deal of respect. It's not something you shove around, or leave up to chance.

Unless you're a little bit strange....

This latest art exhibition has been an excercise in trust. I was asked to show my photographs in a venue that had never held an exhibition before. The people there had not seen my work, or even met me. Faith.

Although the venue had blank wall space, there was no hanging system, and no lighting. "We'll get that done" I was ensured. Faith.

My work was looked at and discussed, and approved. But then things started to develop, and what I was planning to hang changed. A lot. More faith.

Then another artist surfaced - via Facebook. A local painter who wanted a venue to show her paintings. So I contacted her, via Facebook, and we made those tentative steps of two strangers feeling out whether this was a good thing or a big mistake. Faith.

The venue people were told, another artist is coming, trust me, her work is good. Faith again.
I was busy framing new photographs, the painter, Kayleen, was starting whole new paintings, five days before the opening. Big faith!

We organised the hanging system the day before the opening, and hung the works mere hours before the speeches. More faith.

It helped a lot that there was an unseen connection between us all that we were able to hold on to. We all had experience with the same faith. We were all christians.

That didn't make us perfect, or even reliable. But we all knew what trust and faith meant. We all had learned of it from the best source.

We had all lived some of our lives walking in the dark, holding onto a hand that we couldn't see, following a voice that we couldn't hear, moving towards a goal that would only appear in the future.

We had all experienced putting our trust in this man called Jesus.

When the dust had settled, we all agreed the opening was an amazing experience. Words were said that came from the heart, and went to others hearts. People came, saw and stayed for hours. New bonds were formed, and relationships were forged. God was at work.

It's nearly over now, just a couple of days to go before it gets packed up again. The art will come down, but the effect on people's lives will go on.

At this exhibition, the art was just a side show to the main event, the learning and acting in faith.