Closets, Ships and Destinations

Laura Nutting Art

Closets, Ships and Destinations

Moving Forward

Have you ever cleaned out your closet and found a hodge podge of items some of which need a new category for organizing them? You have the classics you keep, the old work clothes, and jackets, hats and accessories have their own category, things to give away, things to trash, and a few items with tags that for some reason sounded good at the time but never really worked out. Then you finally make it to shoes & bags only to find the whole process starts over again.

I know you’re probably feeling less than inspired to read on, but bear with me just a bit longer if you will. A closet cleanout is something we’ve all done on occasion, but have you ever felt like your career or life is one big closet cleanout? I don’t know about you, but if I’m being honest, my artwork and life have both been there and at times I'm not sure where my ship is headed.

When I open the door and face my closet, I get two choices. Look at what’s inside and just grab what I want for the moment, or take a deeper look at what is really serving me well and what needs to go. At that moment I’m dealing with my nature, habits, and commitments. Sometimes I’m just needing a seasonal clean out, but more often, I find that I need smaller amounts of continual cleanout as opposed to a life stopping event on occasion. If I turn this story of my closet to my growth as an artist or life in general, then I’m forced to face choices that I have to make in order to grow (and avoid being stuck), and unlike a closet I can’t just shut the door and walk away unless stagnancy and regression are the goals.

Being a painter means I am continually looking at habits and practices. I have to ask if things are working or not. I am embracing change and growth. I know Who’s the captain of my ship and that Heaven is the destination, but I don’t know the course (let alone the stops along the way). Comfort becomes a thing of moments rather than anything I’m pursuing. I am forced to do the things I don’t want to do to get to where I want to be. An attitude of gratitude is required to make and commit to those decisions.

If God is truly my captain, the course gets unfolded as I go and detours are bound to occur. Yet here I am faced with closet cleanouts and decisions to make. Then comes the commitment. We all know it’s easy to work hard when we feel like it. We also know that commitment holds it’s worth when we don’t feel like it. Giving my full effort to something bigger than me that requires my refining, yet doesn’t list the roadmap and stops along the way, is a step out in faith and submission. I am now sailing on my ship.

What do I believe? What do you believe? I believe I’m being refined to tell an even better story with a paintbrush. If any of you have ever played basketball, you’ll know the term “line drills”. I believe every craft has line drills and life has them too. Will we run them in a pursuit of growing into better? What if we try things that don’t work? What if I’ve been keeping things that don’t?

Today I can resolve to work with my Creator to reach beyond what my closet looks like …. oh yeah, my closet… I should probably go take a look at that.

P.S. If you would like to follow along watching me work, you can follow me on Instagram @lauranuttingart

Until next time,

Laura Nutting