Sugar Rush

I will never listen to “Amazing Grace” the same way ever again. After watching a movie of the same title, the song has more meaning and life.

The movie tells of the great story behind the song which is composed by a man who used to trade African slaves to more developed countries. When God found him, he repented of his sins and wrote the song to express how he was blind before. As he lived with 20, 000 ghosts of the slaves he traded, he helped in the campaign William Wilberforce forwarded.

William Wilberforce is the man behind the abolition of the slave trade in 1833. The bill was only passed after 17 years of waiting and perseverance. But his story is not all the time full of hope. There were a lot of times when he was low and thoughts of giving up the campaign entered his mind more than once. But God used as many people as He could to bring William back to his feet and serve the mission he was called for.

I am encouraged after watching the movie. No matter how hopeless the situation seems, nothing is impossible for God. As humans, we don’t see the bigger picture. We live by sight. As the saying goes, “Seeing is believing.” But not for God. We’re supposed to “live by faith and not by sight.” One year may be a very long time for us. But for God, it may be only an hour or a minute!

Impatience will get us nowhere. But trusting in God and holding on to His promises is the best thing we can ever do. Only God knows what will happen. And, the Bible says, once He starts something He carries it on until it is completed. Just trust in God. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

“A man’s heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs16:9)

“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbid to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water is a must-read for all artists. This book talks about why most artists just don’t get their craft. Why people lose the creativity they once had when they were children.

This world has a lot of dirty devices. People longing for success, for affirmation, for control. These are the worst dirty devices this world has to offer. Because of these things, we forget how it’s like to believe in angels, we forget what it’s like to lie down on the grass and listen to the sounds nature has to offer, we forget how to look at life in a positive way. Instead, we try so hard to climb up the ladder of competition. And in the process, we unlearn how to imagine, how to really create, how to just be. We strive so hard to achieve perfection, to be the person that we want to be that we suppress the person that we should be.

We are afraid of non-being. We are afraid of vulnerability. That’s why we try to control everything around us which is not really a good thing. In art, we are supposed to listen to the story. We’re supposed to let the story flow and let it be. When the story is finished, we can see that the story definitely knows more than we do. And if we don’t listen to it’s soft, still voice, the work is doomed, mutilated, deformed.

Trust is a big issue when it comes to creating. You have to trust the characters, you have to trust the notes, you have to trust the brush and pencil. In other words, walk on water. Don’t look at the dirty devices around you. Don’t let them control your work, control you. You have to remember how to walk on water. Don’t look at the strong wind and the ravage waves. Just look onward. Serve the work. It knows where it should go.

It’s official. I hate myself. I can’t think of any decent thing to write for my feature article. My mind is a mess. And I believe that writing it here is a good therapy for my “craziness.”

I thought of a topic last Saturday already and I didn’t have time to write it during the week because our teachers chose to bombard us with quizzes. And the so-called perfectionist in me wants to have everything organized in my mind before I start writing. That is what’s giving me undue stress. I stress myself too much.

Don’t get me wrong. I love writing. It’s my joy and my therapy. Maybe I jut triy too hard to ”manage my time” and organize everything in an unattainable state. And that’s what’s driving me nuts right now.

Dispelling writers’ block has been the topic of many feature articles in magazines. But it doesn’t seem to work on me! Any ideas?    I’m a hopeless case right now (exaggerating).