taking some constructive criticism

On Saturday I drove to Glenside to do something new.

And at Dovetail Artisans I placed myself out in the open because of my desire to sell stained glass. The owner of the shop spoke honestly with me. She liked what I like best about my work-- the designs and the color. What she had problems with was my soldering, especially the hooks on the sun catchers. I hate that part of the process. I have struggled with those hooks so I found an easier way, but that led for to really large hooks. I guess you can say the designs won out since she took 9 and rejected 8, but I could see the desire in her eyes for those I brought home. As I wandered around her shop I was honored to have become one of the craftsmen she represents.

Last night at church four of us sat with the tower of Babel story in Genesis. God's ways baffled us, but one there brought up the theory that building a tower to honor themselves was what led to God's action. we talked about pride and how that gets in our way. God has given me a doodler's heart and I need to see my creations as a blessing.

At Dovetail Artisans, I was listening to criticism and I could feel the tension that such words can cause in a prideful person. But I sat with that emotion and told myself that it was a good thing to hear.

Like when mosaic woman tells me I am a fool if I walk down the hallway with bare feet. I found this in the carpet the other day, and now I have to take the blame for it because it sure does look like some glass I was cutting this week.....

creation today: it is still good

When I returned to church 10 years ago, I had plenty of doubts and some of them I was sure would stay with me forever. I did not want to touch the first chapter of Genesis, but I did.

It had to compete with my biology degree and interest in evolution. How could the two go together? Wasn't this whole subdue the Earth thing the main reason the planet had environmental issues?

The first break in the fence around my heart happened with the repetitive phrasing of God sensing that creation was good. Who could argue with that? Creation is amazing, if not always gentle and non-violent. The amazement I felt deep inside me that led to my studies in biology seemed to be shared with God. That was good.

Later a minister asked if I would help him with a project. He wanted to rewrite the creation story as if the Hebrews knew what we think we know today. So there we were with Big bangs, and interstellar dust, laws of physics and bacteria, evolution and hominids. But through it all, I wanted those words: and it was good. Pleasing to God.

Talking about cells today in my anatomy class a student said, "all cells come from cells." I agreed, but asked what the problem was with that statement, and soon enough I was asked where the first cell came from.

I said, "It is a mystery. A mystery that can not be explained. No scientist or theologian can tell us with certainty how or why that first cell came into being. But we can be happy that it did."

For it was good.



The images featured here were taken by Margaret. We are at my work place. She played with the camera at night and I watered the flower garden. The Lyng's sunflower I am stretching for once stood over nine feet tall before the weight of the flower bent it over. It took me 18 years to get to six feet, this plant only took 3 months to tower over me.

I am still filled with amazement at what has been created and what has evolved.