Catching Inspiration

The shortening days can affect one’s mood, studies attest to it, the glum expressions that abound on the tube testify to it and if I am honest I feel it. Whereas on a summer morning everything can feel possible, come winter when it is still dark when most rise, and entreaties to the Lord may seem to fall at his feet and not quite land on the Almighty’s ‘to do’ list and other variables such as rain and a stinking cold are added to the mix one can feel alone and under attack.

The weeks since I last wrote have as ever been filled with the respective peaks and troughs but sometimes, when fatigued those troughs can feel all the more deeper…and who wants to end up as pig feed anyway? Although in modern times it might not be fashionable to talk about spiritual attack or to point out that guess what, sometimes,  rubbish things continue happening to decent people, for no particular reason, it is an uncomfortable truth. Furthermore, to not mention it would be dishonest and not truly reflect that this JC business requires a lot of stamina as even His victory was marked on a road of incomparable suffering. Mediaeval writers may have dwelled at length on this concept a little too much – one only has to have a look at some of the art and masonry on cathedrals from that time to see they were big on it, but spiritual fatigue, compounded by attack is a powerful tool used against the faithful.

In difficult times it always pays to go back to biblical basics. I decided after a long hiatus of not really helping to sign up as an Alpha Helper at the Alpha Course at HTB. Meeting people, at various stages of their walk has allowed me the opportunity to once more articulate and interrogate what it is that I believe and why I do in the first place. There is no room for ‘solipsism gone crazy’ styles and fashions where the cult of me is assuaged by others mid cupcake full and a  group of strangers listen politely during debates that range from Who Jesus Is to the Problem of Evil. In my own private time  I have read the Psalms  cover to cover and with one particular passage pleaded with the Lord to prove it:

 “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5

Spiritual attack works via isolating the individual from all that is true and distorting a situation to feel insurmountable. I was helped out of my particular mire by a friend who out of the blue invited me to join him at last week’s Frieze Art Fair. One – nil to JC, I was NOT alone and again I was reminded of another verse:

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

But the best was yet to come; amidst the amazing contemporary art, directional outfits and the delicious salted caramel and bitter chocolate tarts we enjoyed in the VIP hospitality (2 –nil to JC abundance to boot!), I was blown away by the work of William Edmondson. A self-taught sculptor, who began his craft based on a divine calling he believed he had received from the Lord, his faith in the small things led to him being the first African-American to have a solo show at the MOMA New York in 1937. However, this was not a neat happy ever after story.  For beyond that show, his work never realised its true financial value in his lifetime and he died and was buried in an unmarked grave. But here was the thing, half a century or more later and his work was inspiring another Christo artist, to dig deep and stick to the calling. To the world his story might seem one of failed possibilities, but it has all the hallmarks of a true believer: steadfastness, long-suffering and a heartfelt conviction to hold strong to what he knew to be true. Attacks will come and go, but the Lord lasts forever, and he will provide you with pit-stops and inspiration to keep you going along the way.