Most, if not all, of us are familiar with Norman Rockwell and his amazing pictures of American life captured for decades in The Saturday Evening Post.  Rockwell had the uncanny ability to capture the ordinary and mundane things of everyday life and make you smile as  your brain played “remember when…”  From black eyes to Thanksgiving dinners, few could do it better than him.  His efforts seem to validate the great saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Regretfully, I am no artist.  I can behold the great works of the giants in the field and pass judgment (as though my opinion matters), but I lack the ability to draw a straight line.  So I’m an appreciator of art and artists…but have no hope of joining the ranks.  Mr. Rockwell has succeeded, however, in getting me to think of the pictures that are around my little life.  His pictures were not of people posing…but living!

Today, I saw two pictures in real time and real life that I want to share with you.  I drove by an auto parts store and I saw an employee standing outside helping a senior citizen put windshield wiper blades on his car.  He was smiling and the older man was standing there obviously appreciative.  By God’s great grace, I drove by at the right moment and was blessed to capture it.  My first thought was “Rockwell would have loved this.”  As I continued on down the road, I made my way over to my mother-in-law’s house.  When I left, I pulled up to a stop sign and was blessed to see an older fellow and younger lady sitting on their front porch, holding hands, and praying.  (Yes, I stayed at the stop sign long enough to be sure)  🙂

Heaven knows I wish I had the ability to draw these scenes for The Saturday Evening Post-or any other publication, but such a gift was not dealt to these hands.  I could spend a great amount of time wishing I could draw pictures…or I could help make and create the pictures for others to see.  All afternoon I’ve been struck with how the Christian life, when lived out, creates all kinds of visible images.  People loving, helping, praying, serving, worshiping, witnessing, etc. are images that stick with a person.

The cool part of all of this is that each of us get to live out real pictures every single day.  In other words, you don’t need Rockwell’s talent…just a sincere heart and some willing hands and feet to create a lasting image.  The Christian life is an arena of heart-wrenching reality.  Sadly, looking at old pictures can be a bit depressing when you think of good things entrenched in a time that is now past.  But each new day is filled with blessings and opportunities for each of us to live out lasting images of kindness and goodness.  May God help us as we do this as individuals, as families, and as a church family.  Our best days do not have to be behind us.  Stay Classy Monticello!  🙂