Hidden Behind the Title

Feet perched on the stool foot rest; my eyes took in the words on my phone that presented a new oppurtunity. I sat at the kitchen island with leftover breakfast plates and peanut butter smears. The oppurtunity was a paid call for art with the title 'Hidden'. As soon as I read the title  an image was impressed on my mind. It was so powerful that I had to run upstairs, grab my iPad and sketch it straight away. Once the image was out of my brain and roughly there in front of me, with guiding notes for future me, I applied for the oppurtunity. 

About a month prior, in the final days of summer, I had woken up from a dream where I had pearls in my ear. It was a bit unnerving at first, as I was waking up and I thought I may have something lodged in my ear. Alas, there was nothing there. I took this dream to the Lord in prayer and did some research. With discernment, I believe He gave me the understanding that He has opened my proverbial ears to hear His voice. I have prayed for decades that I would more readily hear the Lord and know His voice, so this was a beautiful moment of encouragement. 

Come the end of October I found out that I had not been 1 of 4 chosen for the art opportunity. I knew deep down that the Lord was up to something though. He hadn't given me that image for nothing. It was sketched; it was safe. It was a pearl in a clamshell at the bottom of the ocean, safely hidden on my iPad for now. While fall shopping at Anthropologie, I stopped dead in my tracks when I turned the corner to find a gleaming peach pearl in a clamshell on one of the nightshirts. I asked Andrew, my husband, to hold my things, so I could grab a picture of it. I knew it was a little wink from Jesus. 

Note the message: Keep Clam 

Another month had come and gone, with much crunching of leaves underfoot. The Lord was still encouraging me in small, yet powerful ways. I was sitting with Him each morning to muse, to surrender, to hear what He may have to say. Andrew sent me a reel of Mr. Bean walking across the tops of moving vehicles, planting each step square on top of the next vehicle. The reel likened this to faith in Jesus. I couldn't stop thinking about it because this is exactly what faith feels like. I prayed that the Lord would continue to be the foundation where each of my next steps would land. I asked Him to redirect my steps when needed and continue to give me eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that wants to continue to walk by faith and believe. 

Just three days later on December 1st, I felt the Lord impress on my heart that 'Hidden' will be a collection that He is commissioning me to create. I believe He's telling me that this will be a longer term project, I'm trusting His timing. I believe that their will be a pearl of wisdom to come out of each artwork, not only a clamshell with a pearl, but His voice imparting wisdom to those who have hearts ready to receive Him. My heart burst with joy at the thought of this ask from my Father in Heaven. I burst with gratitude and cried tears because of all the emotions that came after. 

Each new day brought new discoveries, like the verse:

"In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3 

and reading facts like the word hidden is used 94 times in NLT. 

Hebrews 4:12-13 emboldened my soul.

"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable."

Art Practice

By this time, it was mid December and in my devotional reading I had just started the book of James. I watched the Bible Project overview on the book and it says James main influences are Jesus' parable, but especially his sermon on the mount and the first nine chapter of proverbs with contain much wisdom. The book of James is short wisdom speeches full of metaphors and one liners. I think it's no coincidence that the Lord has me reading this in preperation for the new collection titled: Hidden.

Freshly into January, I had a video call with one of my mentors. She was so encouraging when I brought all this new insight to her. She had some wise things to share with me upon reflection. My takeaways from our conversation were:

-Jesus spoke in parables for the purpose of keeping some things hidden

-He won't reveal mysteries to those whose hearts aren't open

-There will be people who cannot see or hear and those who can

-It's such a different reality for those who are in Christ

-Jesus is meant to be sought after and looked for

On January 12th as I read my Bible this verse stood out to me as foundational.

Luke 12:2 "The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed and all that is secret will be make known to all."

I think this verse is the overarching theme of the whole collection. I prayed for a visionary statement to go along with this. I believe the Lord shared with me, 

"Knock and the door will be opened to you, search and you will find."

Welcome to this journey of discovering what God has for us this year. May you be hidden safely beneath His almighty wings as He shows you who He truly is. 

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to pop them down below, I'd love to hear your feedback.