"I find that I have painted my life-things happening in my life-without knowing it." Georgia O’Keefe

I ran across this quote by Georgia O’Keefe the other day. Many are anticipating an exhibit of her work that opens in the Twin Cities next week. Those beautiful bold images of flowers…..painted in such close range…it seems the viewer could walk right into the blossom. The rich colors of the Southwest, her stark black crosses that jump off the canvas at you. "I find that I have painted my life…" No matter our occupation, our work, what we create on a daily basis, isn’t this one of our greatest hopes? That what we spend our minutes, hours, weeks, years, doing what will reflect the truth of our life, our living.

Yesterday I was looking for a book I had read long ago about the stages of faith development articulated by James Fowler. In the introduction, Fowler writes about his profound experience of being brought to a stand still by a list of questions he had written and planned to use in a workshop.Driving along a road near Asheville, North Carolina, Fowler had to pull over and take stock of how he would answer the questions he was so cavalierly posing to others….how he was "painting his life". Here are a few of the questions:

"What are you spending and being spent for? What commands and receives your best time, your best energy? What causes, dreams, goals, or institutions are you pouring out your life for? As you live your life, what power or powers do you fear or dread? What power or powers do you rely on and trust? To what or whom are you committed in life? In death? With whom and what group do you share your most sacred and private hopes for your life and for the lives of those you love? What are those most sacred hopes, those most compelling goals and purposes in your life?"

Very deep and important questions, especially for a Wednesday.But I offer them to you as I wrestle with them myself. Hidden in the answers are the colors….bold reds, gentle yellows, challenging purples, shining whites, vesper blues, rich blacks…..waiting for the artist in each of us.