A Testimony of Projection, Providence, and Paint
There is great power in the word we say.
In the third, the space between thought and thing.
In the dreams we lost in our minds so many years ago.
In the 1990s, I had an exhibition at the Forest Park Garden in St. Louis.
It was amazing. It was beautiful.
Cameras rolled. Butterflies took flight on canvas. The pavilion shimmered on the water like a promise.
At the end of that exhibition, as cameras and people rolled away I said to myself: “You will do it again.”
Many years passed. Life happened.
Then I opened my journal, a journal of projection, of manifestation, of things to come.
Last year, while I was clearing my place, I read through those pages.
I didn’t know then that the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, Fort Wayne, Indiana, would be approaching me to have an exhibit.
But God knew.
When we walked the space in Indiana earlier today, I went to the corner and I said to God: “Thank you for bringing to pass the thoughts that I had.”
And I blessed the walls where my paintings will hang for two months next year.
So may we have great thoughts.
Thoughts of prospects. Of hope. Of joy. Of projection. Even when we do not know our next minute.
May we believe and reflect on that belief, and hold on. Most especially, may we live in faith.
Knowing that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It is a testament to God’s sovereignty. To God’s power. For He is Providence. He is the Source.
And just as our thoughts matter,
so He will orient those thoughts
to bring the vision to us.
I can’t wait for next year to light up that Botanic Garden.
I can’t wait for what will ensue, for the creative pieces that will brighten those walls.
Because nothing truly yours can be taken.
Not even by time. Not even by you.
So we paint. We believe.
We hang the work. And we wait for the walls to sing.
~ Timothy Orikri
