Today I heard a speaker in my church’s “Faith and Art” lecture series. This morning before the lecture, which started at 11:30 a.m., I got nothing done. Just little piddly things, I was really thinking I should go to a lecture titled “How not to waste time”! Anyway, I went to the lecture and I was glad I did. The artist and speaker, Marcia Hinds, spoke about how her art is her way of showing her faith in the Lord. How God wants to see us all use our gifts, whatever kind of gifts they may be. She talked about how you never know how something you paint, or sing, or write, might affect someone.I have had many kind people tell me how much they love my artwork and even that my work means something to them. But, I struggle with how to use my gift to glorify God. How can what I do really affect people? Ms. Hinds also talked about creating art and then giving it as a gift. I didn’t get to talk to her after the lecture, but I suspect she meant giving her art to the world to see, instead of literally giving it away. She and I both sell our work. But again, I sat there thinking, I need to give away more art.And then I got home and saw God working in my life with my art. He usually doesn’t show me things so quickly, but today He did. The phone rang and it was a friend whom I had sent some “bible study” notecards to yesterday. I was reminded that I did give a gift of my art, though it was notecards and not original art, just yesterday. She loved getting the notecards in the mail so much that she asked me if I would make some notecards of one of her favorite paintings, called “HOPE”, so she could give them to her bible study group. The “HOPE” painting is of an angel with the word HOPE written at the bottom, and she said this image would be especially meaningful to some of the members of her small group.So God showed me through this little chain of events that my work does matter to people and I need to just keep on doing what I’m doing. A pretty good day.