Rachel E. Watson

I tell ya, there's nothing that gets my brain juices flowing quite as much as ArtPrize. Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons, but this new Grand Rapids tradition makes it even better. This is the first in what I hope to make a series of blog posts about the competition, and here's some mind candy to get you started:

This exhibit by Woody Jones, in the Grand Rapids Public Museum on the third floor, is called "Where do you get those ideas?", and it's a mixed-media sculpture/mechanical assembly with parts operated by a hand crank. It represents the inner workings of a person's mind. Here is the front face view:



And here is the side view, with the head open to show the mechanical scenes, equivalent to thought processes:



The artist was there to discuss his work, and he told me he was so down to the wire with time and short on money to buy supplies that he ended up carving the figurines in the right foreground out of pieces of his own bookshelves at home. I thought that was a little crazy, but I also thought his artwork ended up looking a lot like an artistically executed version of what me and my siblings did to our basement playroom when I was little: a mass network of mini eco-systems. So NOT crazy. :)

At this time last year, my friends and I were gathering excitedly in the Stelma kitchen, writing birthday poems for Katie and decorating the screen porch as we waited to jump out and surprise her. This was the look on her face:


Fast-forward to last night: Same scenario, different setting. (This time, Emma and Lauren blindfolded her and walked her to Salvatore's, where we all were waiting.) I can't believe she was surprised. Again. Unless she was faking... which seems a little unlikely, given this evidence:


But the opportunity to share in birthday joy with her, two years in a row, is the main point I'm writing. I remember when I was wrapping up my high school years, looking forward to college. I wondered if I'd make those lifelong friends I'd always dreamed of having -- something like what my mom has with her suitemates from nursing school. It's almost 40 years later, and they're still friends.

I've always wanted that. And now, as I reflect on the sunny August birthday party of last night, as I remember the faces of my dear friends, I begin to think we'll be the kind of friends that high-school me was dreaming about.

It's good to be August again.

I just want to take a moment to say ... I'm feeling really grateful right now.

Grateful for my friends (even though I don't always stop to thank them), grateful for my job, grateful for Adam, grateful for a place to live and a car to drive, grateful for my family, my neighbors (and their cute cats), my window air conditioner and my cute little bedroom.

It's the simple things, really. I am not sure why God has blessed me so much, because I don't even always acknowledge Him from day to day, but today I just want to take a moment to thank Him for providing above and beyond what I need -- even to the extent of the extra things I don't need.

Also, because I know that a grateful life is a generous life, I pray that He will guide me and give me a selfless heart to reach out in generosity toward those around me (literally) who don't have the same advantages I so often take for granted.

By writing it here, I'm basically making a promise to whoever reads this that I will try each day to use my resources (my "talents," see Matt. 25:14-30) to glorify God in whatever way possible.

I have some ideas about how to do that. Stay tuned.