Out of the Ordinary
An exhibition based on dialogue between David Arms and Lloyd Shadrach
Fellowship Bible Church – Brentwood, Tennessee – March 2007
ordinary – adj. normal; common; familiar.
Why do we search far and wide in the pursuit of beauty when it is within our reach all along – in the familiar and the common?
In 2005 I painted a show entitled “Still” which was based on conversations with friend and pastor, Lloyd Shadrach. These conversations were enriched and came to life after a silent retreat at a monastery in Kentucky. My senses were heightened to the beauty and artistry of God in the ordinary – beauty that can only be found in what He has created. A stick, a rock, an insect, a leaf. I have painted this entire show using familiar subjects, many of which are found within the boundaries of where I live – objects of my “day to day” ordinary life.
While doing this show, we were walking through the book of Ruth, and like this book, this show is about life. Ordinary people doing ordinary things who God uses to tell stories of His extraordinary love. Like life, this show deals with both pain and joy. But in the end I want the viewer to believe more than ever the promise of hope. On an ordinary day a man was nailed to an ordinary cross that told the story of an extraordinary love.
The conversations continue between these two ordinary guys – some of joy and some of pain. But I always eagerly anticipate seeing what God will do……out of the ordinary!
Naomi and Me
Naomi and Me
Lloyd:
David and I had been discussing how in the book of Ruth, all is not what it appears, at least to the characters living out the story. Naomi viewed her life as “full” as the story began only to become empty when what made her “full” (husband, sons, home in Bethlehem) was taken away. But could it be that her “fullness” was “empty”? And that in her “emptiness” God could fill her with something better, something more, something a husband, sons and a home in Bethlehem could never supply? Her “emptiness” made room for His “fullness”.
David:
It is so easy to believe we have our eyes on the cross when they are actually on ourselves. What looks like a cross over the empty bowl is actually four arrows pointing inward – all pointing to “self”. When this is the case, we are left empty even though we are expecting to be filled. The other cross is whole with its only arrow pointing to God – the only true place we can be filled.
Redeemer
Redeemer
Lloyd:
These images have fueled our conversations for several months; the earthy ordinariness of the story, the landscape of the characters, the bittersweet providence of God. The extremes are striking: from infertility to a womb opened, from famine to harvest (enough in fact for a gleaner like Ruth to have “plenty”), from such great loss in the beginning of the story to such incredible gain in the end. It’s like going from “dark to light”. We want the “light”, that is the good, the harvest, the open womb, the gain. But in Ruth it’s all together. There is not one without the other.
Such is the life of faith. The heads of wheat at the top of the painting would not be there without the darkness at the bottom. In that darkness the roots grow deep. And from that dark place our “Kinsman-Redeemer” brings us, saves us, and rescues us, giving us the food we need, the nourishment of soul found only in the One from “the house of bread” – Bethlehem.
Hand of God
Hand of God
David:
We are all vessels meant to be filled – filled with the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit is not to stay contained. It is by the hand of God that the “lid” can be lifted off the vessel and the fruit can be poured out. The supply is endless. It pours onto those around us.
I need those people who are put into my life to pour on to me peace, love, joy, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and patience. When it comes to confrontation, I definitely need them to show self-control.
Domino Effect
The Domino Effect
David:
I told Lloyd recently that what I sensed in him was fear. Fear of what has happened. Fear of what could happen. Fear of what might never happen. And if one of these fears “toppled”, then the “new” fear would be that the rest might fall too.
God told us to “fear not”, that He will help us, strengthen us and uphold us. the front domino is a three – the Trinity – where our eyes must stay. Throughout the dominoes are sixes – sin. They are a part of who we are but if we keep our eyes on the “three”, the “sixes” cannot take us down.
Lloyd:
What I love about this image is how well it portrays the “if/then” scenario that I so often play out in my mind. I create circumstances in my head, burn energy trying to walk in them, then come back to reality exhausted. I recently read something to the effect of… “God gives us grace for what actually happens in our lives, not what we imagine will happen”. I look at this and am reminded of Who sets up the dominoes in this life.
Refreshed
Refreshed
David:
How simple an image this is. How simple our needs can be. Sometimes this is all we need – pure and simple. At the end of a long, painful day, someone close put his arm around my shoulder and said to me, “your friend needs a cup of fresh water”.
What a privilege it is to dip into your own well when the water might be plentiful and give it to your brother whose well seems almost dry. Aren’t there times when that is all you need?
Glimpse of Heaven
Glimpse of Heaven
Lloyd:
Talk about “plain and ordinary”. How about a rock? David was telling me one day about some “river stones” that his daughter brought him as a gift after spending time away with her grandparents. Money could not buy a better gift – not just because of who gave them, but I could tell it was also because his daughter saw something precious in a simple, ordinary stone.
David:
Anything created by the hand of God gives us a tiny glimpse of heaven. And yet this stone He created is also used to destroy others in judgement. This piece became a clear reminder for me to drop them before I cast them.
Sharing the Burden
Sharing the Burden
Lloyd:
Unspeakable burdens. Wordless weights. Sometimes we carry things that either we can’t put words to or we simply can’t speak about. Though the words don’t come out, you can’t hide the reality of the weight.
David one day told me that he had this picture in his mind that he wanted me to “feel”. He said, “I pictured you holding a box you just couldn’t lift, even though you wanted it lifted up. I don’t even know what was in the box, I don’t have to know. Just know that my arms are carrying it with you and for you and I will lift it up”. Sometimes…we just need someone to carry our boxes for us.
David:
The burden can be so heavy that you can’t even lift it up to God. Even when you need to the most, you just don’t have it in you. That is what I believe we have sacred companions for. If you can’t lift it up, you can hand it over so it can then be lifted up.
Fear Not
Fear Not
David:
We live among the darkness. But there is a light. The light cannot be put out. The darkness cannot cover up the light. The light obliterates the darkness. The light saves. The darkness destroys. He is the light. So why are we afraid of the dark?
Fear not!
Lloyd:
It strikes me that there is more “dark” than “light” in this painting. It took a lot of dark color to cover this board. And yet, just the slightest amount of “light” paint stands out. I’m also aware that only when I look at the light do I get the benefit of the light. The top part of the words “fear not” need to lean over a little towards the light…
Significance
Significance
Lloyd:
David and I talk about what we do, why we do it, how we feel about it, and all the fears and insecurities connected to our vocations. Someone could look at one of his paintings and “frown” in a way that says…”I don’t like that”. Ouch! Someone can hear me speak and “frown” in a way that says…”I didn’t like that, that was not very good”. Ouch! It’s what I hate about the “public” aspect of what God has called me to do. I told David one day, “I wish I could get over my need for approval, my fear of what others think. I wish I could rest in knowing my significance is not tied to how I perform”.
David:
We all want to feel significant. To feel needed. To feel we matter. Scripture gives us two simple, ordinary images, the sparrow and the lily, to show us God’s care and our significance.
Creation
Creation
Lloyd:
David and I were several conversations into the “ordinariness” of Ruth’s story when it dawned on me that all God has created is “ordinary” in the sense that He has infused all of creation with the DNA of His character. And since any creation reflects it’s creator to some degree, then what we think of as “extra-ordinary”, like a beautiful sunset, is really no more “extra-ordinary” than a piece of dirt. God made it all. I told David one afternoon, “Of all that God created, it seems that people are the only part of creation that don’t like the way they were created. We are always trying to improve, change, be something different than what we were made to be. Animals don’t do that. They like the skin God gave them. They are comfortable in their skin – in their ordinary, God given skin. I wish I were more like that”.
David:
And if only we could stop, look close and see the indescribable beauty God put into every detail of His creation!
Happily Ever After
Happily Ever After
David:
Recently I told Lloyd how I was questioning the message that was being given by the fairy tales my girls have grown to love – Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and more. They all sort of go like this – life may not start out so well, but someday you will meet your prince and you will live happily ever after. The end. How much simpler can it get? Then it suddenly dawned on me – as believers, this story is true. Life may not be all we thought it would be, but one day when we do meet our Prince face to face, there is one thing I know for sure – we WILL live happily ever after. Forever! Now when I see my girls playing in their dress-up gowns and tiaras, I can look at each of them, smile and say “yes my little princess, one day this story will come true for you – and you too will live happily ever after”.
The Trees of the Field
Trees of the Field
Lloyd:
Ruth has had us talking about the ordinary, plain, “what’s right in front of us” kind of things. David frequently uses sticks in his work. I’m talking plain old sticks…the ones I pick up in my yard to throw away. But when he paints them – there is so much to look at, to appreciate, to ponder. There is a “beauty” in that old stick. We’ve been reminding each other often lately that “creation sings”. And it sings a beautiful song if we take the time to listen, to look, to really hear and see.
David:
I want so badly for it to be my nature to sing, to clap my hands, to praise – even when the darkness is closing in.
Shattered
Shattered
Lloyd:
The story of Ruth starts off on a bad note, then goes to a worse note. Naomi’s life, and Ruth’s, were in shambles. This cannot be “good news”, can it? Who likes it when life “shatters” around them, when things don’t go as planned or as you had hoped they would go. I remember David telling me about he and his wife purposefully dropping this precious vase to capture this image of a “shattered” life. I was thinking…”why drop something so valuable?”. And when in seeing the painting I am reminded that what’s inside is what is valuable and becomes evident only when what was thought to be valuable is shattered. My first words to David upon seeing the painting were…”it feels as though the egg is rising for some reason”.
David:
There are times when the word “broken” just doesn’t seem enough. There are times when it feels like life has “shattered” into pieces so small that there is no hope for repair. We met the concrete face to face. It is in this brokenness, this “shatteredness”, that God meets us and out of the rubble rises hope…new life!
Free
Free
Lloyd:
In the midst of some very difficult days, David called me and left a message on my cell phone. He said, “I want you to think of something right now that you are carrying, something that has you anxious or is weighing you down that Jesus died for, that has been forgiven. Whatever it is, do you know that it was dealt with on the cross? Put it back!” Without hesitation the words “approval / living for what others think” rose up in my mind. Why is it that I’m always taking off the cross what Jesus put on it?
David:
The important part of this painting is that the dove, Jesus, is alive and not still hanging on the cross. He rose and freed us from all of this junk!
He Restores My Soul
He Restores My Soul
David:
The hummingbird defines perpetual motion. To see one still is almost startling. It looks unnatural. Is it the same for us? For Him to restore our souls, I believe we must be still, be quiet. That is why He leads us to green pastures and still waters – to restore our souls. Why do we wait until we are depleted before we go to be restored? It’s like me always waiting until I am just about out of gas before I go to fill up the car. Lloyd’s tank was almost empty. He was almost on the side of the road. It was time for him to pull over, search for a green pasture, sit by the still water and have his soul restored.
Lloyd:
It was not until David told me the significance of the hummingbird (motor always running) that the power of this image sank in. Though outwardly I can try to maintain an image of “calm / in control”, inwardly my wings are beating like hummingbirds, and my soul is darting to and fro. This bird is beautiful when it sits still – on a limb held by heaven.
Passage
Passage
David:
Throughout life we close doors to parts of our heart. Some doors we don’t let people in. Some we don’t go through. I mentioned to Lloyd how often the doors have been there so long that we don’t even know they exist. It is usually in adult life that these doors are exposed. They are revealed. They stir up fear. When I open the door, will I walk into a vacuum where I will have to search high and low for what is hidden deep within? Or, when I open the door will something terrifying jump out in my face and try to take me down? Whatever the door reveals, I think it is only then that we can experience the wonder and the freedom that was meant to be ours.
This was the last “paintable” conversation Lloyd and I have before this show – just days ago. It was the last painting that I knew I had to do. How appropriate is the image? An open door. I end this show eagerly anticipating what lies beyond!
Lloyd:
As David and I have talked over these past few months there have been times when I sensed he was reaching to open a door in me that I simply did not want opened. I think he knew that. As of late he has grabbed a few door knobs and cracked the door open before I could get the dead bolt turned – then when I tried to close the door he was just standing there smiling – his shoe keeping the door from closing. We spoke on the phone this week and he said something that made me cry – I’m not sure where that came from, but I suspect one of those doors he cracked didn’t get closed.