Chickpeas, garlic, herbs; ground up, rolled in a ball and fried. Served with hummus and tzatziki dipping sauce. This is romance.
It had been a while since Elena (my wife) and I had had a proper date. (One that didn’t involve going to see Star Wars The Force Awakens in theaters.) But Aunt Brenda (Elena’s sister) was in town to wrangle Ben and Kaylee, leaving us a full evening to just be together in our beautiful city.
One of our favorite restaurants in New Orleans is Lebanon’s Cafe. Uptown in the Spring is pretty magical. The trees were bright green with hints of what is to come. Flowers were beginning to bloom in the hedges around the beautiful mansions that frame Carrollton Avenue. We sat by the window and watched the streetcars roll by. We laughed and began to do something that just seems to come more naturally in the Spring… we began to dream.
Life has a way of shutting down your dreams every now and then. Sometimes it is circumstantial and sometimes it is God grabbing your attention and saying “Hey guys, My will – not yours, capeesh?”
“We make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9
God is a Creator – and we are made in His image. The human heart cannot help but to dream and create! It’s in our very DNA. Every artist knows that feeling where the brushstroke doesn’t land and you have to start over completely. Failed plans don’t mean you are a failure. It means there is opportunity to try again – to make something new!
Scientists have used infrared scanners to examine some of the greatest works of art in museums like the Louvre – and you know what they found? Paintings underneath some of the most masterful works of art! Artists (including Picasso) would white wash a canvas if they weren’t happy with how a project was working out and then begin to paint anew. Our failed dreams add depth to our character. Sometimes God has to white wash over our failures to begin painting a new masterpiece.
And sometimes those paintings begin to take shape as you laugh with your wife, eating falafel on a beautiful Spring day.