The Crafting of Craft by the Craftmaster | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: The Crafting of Craft by the Craftmaster | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jerry Edmonds
02/14/07
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES

Whenever one talks of “craft”, many images appear. To some they see in their mind’s eye an elderly man wearing a leather apron, bent over a workbench, glasses hanging just at the end of his nose, chisel and hammer gently guided by gnarled hands that have before carved many a bird, or wolf, or any number of God’s creatures. Others may see a woman, deftly moving needle and yarn, making a scarf, or a sweater, or a hat appear, almost as if by magic. Even others envision a painter, seated at an easel, palette and brushes scattered before him, dabbing paint to canvas and seeing at first images, then shapes, and at last a beautiful landscape complete with a brook lined with willow trees. In almost every instance these craftsmen seem to make their projects appear with little to no effort.

As these images and others are conjured up in our minds we all have our own ideas as to what constitutes “craft”. We would agree, I believe, that exceptional skill, much experience, and trial and error are necessary to develop a desire into what would be defined as noteworthy accomplishments in our respective crafts. Desire, unfortunately, does not always yield work worthy of the title “craft”; we all know of those who truly want to reach a high level of performance in certain abilities, yet the achievement of that level remains elusive. Perhaps this describes you as well as it describes me. The saving grace in this is the knowledge that God has given every human an ability to accomplish something that no other person on Earth can do with the level of success seen in their own effort. After all, why would the Creator of all that exists make us in His image and not instill in us the ability to make; to create; to CRAFT? I think that God, in His wisdom and according to His will, has given each one their place to fill, their path to follow, and their part to finish. He has done this in order to make this earth a place, an exhibit, of His glory and grace. Is this not proven in the beautiful hawk the carver has revealed; in the lovely scarf the knitter has finished; in the serene landscape the painter has brought to life? It is up to each of us to find our way in His will and to submit and surrender to it in order that the grace of Christ is seen and shown in our lives: even in our craft.

PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY FOR THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.