Once upon a sculpting

Posted on by Gary Fultz

 

A storm makes a mess. We can allow God to Sculpt us in the strongest storms of life

Wind snow sculpture close up eml
Snow sculpture edge close up     Dictionary:To carve, model, chisel, sculpture, fashion, form, shape, cast, cut, hew.     Everything is being sculpted outside our house right now. Wind, gusts of wind, bigger and longer gusts of wind, and then hold your breath I think the creaking house is moving in these monstrous gusts of wind. Wind snow blow cp eml

Lately it seems like every couple of days we are having 50 hour storms. Piles of snow. As I type and look out the window, high winds are sculpting the landscape. Nature plays for keeps. So does God.

Wind snow blow 4 eml
Not a tweety bird in sight, sometimes nothing is in sight

There are probably a lot of overlapping  lessons  here. Possible titles: Storms of life anyone? In the Storm? After the Storm? When Harsh Winds Blow? Help Me Find My Car? Winter Camping Anyone? Can’t Find My Igloo? This is Fun! Where have all the bluebirds gone?

Wind snow blow 2 eml
Disclaimer on photo quality: The only thing holding still is my camera on a tripod taking pictures of moving things from inside the house through the windows.

I know, in my head, that God uses all things to Sculpt us. The One who designs one of a kind in everything from each snowflake in the storm to you and I. When I say this I think of the abused, the quadriplegic, the cancer ALS and other disease fighters, the inner and outer scarred and broken, the forgotten in special homes and you and I. We all have, or will, fit the bill sometime in our life before the dates separated by a dash are sculpted into granite. Life can be just cruel and harsh.

In This Sculpting by God, We can Trust. He has a plan that takes all the accidents, splats and storm damages of life to sculpt us into the likeness of his son for eternity. I do not say this lightly. I have lots of life’s scars and only some are visible. You probably do as well.

Wind snow sculpture eml
A larger view of some small snow sculptures in my yard. As I type they are changing, bigger, tougher, prettier and the winds are much harder. I’m not going out there!

God is bigger than any storm and does more than patch up storm damage. He is so powerful that he can take the storm damaged life and make it part of your christ-like-eternal-DNA masterpiece

Trust God, Trust God, Trust God not only with your life but with your storms! (Proverbs 3:5-6). Walk with Him daily. He will direct your paths

Gary 

I took the above pictures an hour ago (below, just now). The winds outside are getting seriously worse. I’m going to see if I still have a boat behind the shed (or a shed for that matter), make some coffee and watch the storm. Yep wind gust coming

Wind gust coming eml
Picture taken through the patio door and through the screen porch…not going out there!

7 thoughts on “Once upon a sculpting”

  1. The storms I know Gary are storms at sea from my time in the Merchant Navy. There have been a few that I didn’t think we’d come through, but without the occasional storm life at sea was somewhat timid!

    But I agree – God sculpts us through the storm. Even the disciples had to learn that. I am just not sure that I fancy the snow storms you are experiencing! I am not a huge fan of the white stuff and the UK is not good at dealing with it when it does come!

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  2. David, I have been to the UK only once for a week of work but observed a lot of differences. I would not wish this storm on you at all. I think it would go right through some houses and the countryside livestock would die. Some of our wild life will die in this. However, I prefer this to any sea storm on any size boat. I have told the Lord many times “I prefer to learn and be sculpted in small increments” (including today).

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    1. We had ‘bad’ snow a couple of times in 2018 Gary – during the last significant fall I got all the way back from a job in Switzerland (after problems there with the snow re road, rail and air travel) and got stranded 13 miles from home for two days – fortunately in a small town with one small hotel. Praying for you in the storm.

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  3. I deeply appreciate your prayers David. I have a 1/2 mile driveway with 4 feet of snow drifted in until the wind dies down. My wife is 2 hours away and I am caring for our severely handicapped daughter for awhile. Work will wait for me. This tends to raise the “Trusting God in all things” bar. A risky adventure as well.

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    1. It was drifts that stopped me getting home last March Gary, but the weather you are experiencing is outside of my experience. It’s bed time here now, but I will be remembering you and your family to our Heavenly Father until sleep kicks in.

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  4. A storm — emotional, physical, or spiritual — can be terrifying. We may be shaken to the core. But God does not forsake us. And, as you say, He continues to transform us w/ a loving hand into the image of His Son.

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