A couple of weeks ago I went to the Gallery of Modern Art(GOMA) with a friend and the experience was nothing like I had expected. I could not have anticipated the intensity of the somberness or deliberation that it triggered. I found myself quiet (yes, me quiet) and (wait for it...) thinking critically and analytically about my life!!! All this just from viewing a display!!! Man! I was so emotionally drained that I wasn't even able to tour the rest of the gallery and had to head home; very exhausted.
Below are a few shots of the display that did this to me (trust me, the pictures do not do it justice!)
It was called "Falling back to Earth". The wolves come from different places and begin their journey to the "top". They seem to be making progress.. going higher and even soaring
But.. when they least expect it, that's when IT happens! They hit this invisible wall and start "falling back to earth".
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In the picture you might be able to see how some remain down and struggling after the fall but there are also those who are clearly contemplating rejoining the trek back to the top.
Is it obvious yet how that made me think about life like in an overwhelming way???? Man! The artist (Cai Guo-Qiang) also mentions in a caption at the gallery that the most difficult barriers to overcome are the one that we cannot see. Hmmmm... It is such a fake feeling to feel like you are going round in circles and not making any real progress. Those times when it is not even clear that you have 'learnt' anything from that past experience but keep repeating the mistakes or whatever. Heb 12:1 says
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us..."
May God help us to identify the "barriers" in our lives, to pay attention and see which things are keeping us from growing in our faith, becoming better in the areas that He has placed us. May He help us to not only see but do the work that it often takes to address those barriers. It's obviously not going to be easy or straightforward that is why the Bible uses words like endurance. We can't give up. He has got us and actually has good plans for us.
Obviously, there are some barriers that are beyond our control. But even then, by the grace of God, we can get up again and be able to live a life abundant because of God who
"... is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Eph 3:20)
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