Mural Madness: Are you living to conquer or living to discover?

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

—Jeremiah 29:13

Spotting another mural, Maryellen quickly jerked the wheel to turn into the parking lot. Just as quickly, I jumped out of the car to snap a photo and then we were off once more to capture another scene.

There were 23 murals pictured on the Hobe Sound Murals Locator Map and we were out to find them all, documenting each with a picture. We learned about the mural project at the local Chamber of Commerce, where a representative told us that the artist had hidden something in each painting.

Searching online, I tried to find out exactly what was hidden, but to no avail. Instead, I would have to search for the treasure in each beautiful scene without really knowing what I was searching for.

Stay in Lane

”... let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us”

—Hebrews 12:1

“Wait for green,” the traffic sign read.

As opposed to what? I wondered. Doesn't every licensed driver know to wait for green before venturing through the intersection?

“Beware of aggressive drivers,” the next sign also caught my attention.

What? They have to post a sign for this? Where I come from the signs read, “Beware of deer crossing.” But aggressive drivers? What state is this?

I was traveling through Pennsylvania and New Jersey when I spotted those signs, so I’m not sure which one gets the credit. But I do know which state gets the credit for the sign I read this week—it’s where I come from, my own beloved Maryland.

“Use caution. Stay in lane.”

Perhaps I’m missing something, because again as opposed to what? Doesn't every driver know that?

Idioms, Peculiarities, and Personal Satisfaction

Let everyone be sure to do his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work done well and won’t need to compare himself with someone else.—Galatians 6:4

Okay, I admit it.  That bugs me.  There, I’ve said it.  What I’m talking about are those random spires of sorghum that rise far above the rest of the field.  I can’t help but notice them as I drive past—a peculiar sight that sticks out like a sore thumb. I imagine myself furiously slicing the stalks to line up with their neighbors.  But why?  Why do the overachieving shoots of grain bother me so much?  Is it because I prefer tidiness and clean lines—even, straight lines?  It’s true that a well-groomed lawn without a blade out of place is like a breath of fresh air to me.  And evenly aligned desks in my classroom make my heart sing. But could my annoyance over the perceived anomaly in the sorghum field stem from something much deeper?

Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m behind the curve at work.  A few of my colleagues are flaunting cool technology in their classrooms, while I’m still trying to install the software—let alone use it.  They’re head and shoulders above the rest of us.  That bugs me.  But why?  Can I not celebrate their success without getting my nose out of joint?  Do I have to keep up with the Joneses?  Why do I want to be like them?  Is it fear that they will get noticed by the principal and I will not?  “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?”—Galatians 1:10

The Hurdles

Lessons learned in elementary school extend way beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic...

The Hurdles
By Desiree Glass

Peering out the window, breeze blowing in

Hair flying

Chatting friends by my side, bouncing up and down on the bumpy bus ride

The pleasant ride that screeched to a halt

When what I spied made me jolt

Dotting the school yard like blemishes on a supermodel—

The Hurdles!

Dread threw itself on me and fear grabbed me by the neck

Squeezing tighter than my red uniform tie

Choking out silent screams,

Oh, no! I can’t!  I’m not fast! 

They’ll laugh at me! I’ll trip over—

The Hurdles!

But I had no choice

No one could escape the trials

Or Sister

Towering over us, her black habit blowing like a thunderstorm coming off the coast

Green baton in one hand and stopwatch in the other

Ticking down the seconds till my turn to face—

The Hurdles!

Terror seized my stomach and twisted it

To kingdom come

Breakfast churned and my soul yearned

To slip from my skin and disappear in the dirt like a spring sprinkle

To escape—

The Hurdles!

Get on your mark!

Get set!

Go!

Monique took off faster than BB the bird dog let loose from the chain

Her head bobbing, eyes focused

Fuzzy braids flying, and her feet n’er touching the ground, let alone—

The Hurdles!

A new record and a smile

On Sister’s face, framed with a white un-halo

O Lord, help me—I’m next!  Send out the seraphim!

Save this girl, slow as a terrapin!

Help me get over—

The Hurdles!

Get on your mark!

Get set!

Go!

I took off as fast as my chubby legs would go

Hair flying, eyes on the hay bales

Legs up and over and over and over and over and I made it over—

The Hurdles!