Linten Thoughts

I have several gifted, artistic friends. I must have a little brain space devoted to the pursuit of creativity.....most certainly that of others! My friend, Chris, is a ceramicist,and a sculptor. I now know she is an accomplished 2D and 3D artist. She is going to send me a photo of the Dumpster Diva which I will proudly post. I will save the juicy details for that entry, but it is a magnificent illustration of taking the discards of life and making them glorious.
My friend, Judy makes paper. She is in the newspaper business, but this paper is a work of art. I buy paper at Staples ---- she forms it with her hands. Of course, mine goes into the printer, or spends its days being scribbled on as I try to organize my budget. Hers is turned into something beautifully textured.
When I lived in Des Moines, I bought a nativity from a local artist whose love was handmade paper. I enjoy it so much, I keep it out all year long. As I have known Judy, the little framed manger scene has become more valuable to me because I know how much effort it took to form.
Judy makes my week fun because I collect lint for her! Yes, lint from the dryer. These days it takes much longer to accumulate anything worthwhile for her....oh, had I known her in the days when I had 3 children under 4, she would have hit the mother lode ( or mother's loads, as it were).
I eagerly wrote her last night to tell her of the purple and yellow lint that came from two new beach towels. Sadly, most of my lint is very grayish.
My bag of lint for Judy is often like my life. It is the discarded extract that God uses to form something artful. He takes the extra and gives it texture.
He was eco-nomical before Ralph Nader was born. My life is an environmental issue from day one. Nothing is wasted. He takes my pain, my grief, my gray moments and mixes them in with an occasional purple or yellow experience. He mooshes them together in order to craft something beautiful. I am His handiwork.
Judy makes my laundry room a holy place as I gather the lint for I think how He is working all things together for good. YAY for lint! YAY for a creative God!