“Weightless”  

I remember the season this was painted. I was a single mom in her mid-thirties feeling the weight I had carried my whole life to do more, do better and be better. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t feel this weight - at least not as a subconscious underpinning  in my thoughts.  I was trying to stretch my capacity every day with high ideals in parenting, house projects, relationships, ministry, etc. etc. I would stretch and try ALL the time - always hoping to be a little better - without even recognizing what I was doing. 

Enter my dear friend Christianna who called often during that season just to enter the presence of God and pray together over the phone. We would snatch a few moments here and there whenever we could and just drop in to the awareness of His presence together. It was amid dishes, or children clamoring, or on the side of the road during a long road trip - all seemingly mundane moments - when suddenly a Holy theme would arise. “Lord, we want to live weightless before you.” With long bouts of thick Holy silence on the line came Christianna’s repeated phrases… “Lord, I want to be so distracted by your love that everything else becomes weightless!” 

 I remember it was like tuning my inward dial to a new frequency, one that felt light, unhurried and so much richer than whatever I was chasing before. When I would resurface from those moments my mind felt clear and yet slightly confused why I had been all worked up and in a hurry before.  The rhythm of that place with Him was so… so unlike anything in the world. It was so full, so rich, so satisfying and yet without any pressure. It was a recalibration of the senses.  

Thinking of Christianna’s words about being “distracted” hit my heart. I had been distracted alright. Unfortunately I was distracted from the sweet, rich dwelling place that HE is by all the heavy weights I was under as I performed to become better. That pressure was distracting me from living continually out of this weightless way with Him. Oh, what would it feel like to instead be so distracted by HIS love? Weightless indeed.  

I'll admit there are times at this point in my life that I live weightless, and other times I do not. It is always my goal though. I find the more I sink into Him the less I feel I have to carry for the world.

This painting is meant to serve as a reminder for us to stop the hustle and just be with Him. There is certainly a place for all the things we feel called to carry in this life (job, family, ministry, career, etc.) But when we are rightly fixed on Him these things, like the yellow scarf in this painting, become weightless.  

Lord, show us your way to live like this always.  

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Mat 11:28-29 MSG