Consider

Consider

Teresa Carter

2010

Oil and Mixed Media on Birch Panel

36” x 36”

Eighteen houses - newspaper birdhouses made from clippings that speak of the housing market- hang from decaying branches while a bird keeps watch over her home.

Is this two perspectives within one composition or the perspective of one living within the assurance of a God who sees and cares?

“Consider the birds of the air,” Jesus said. “They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they?” Jesus' question answers one of the questions posed by God to Job centuries earlier. “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment, when its young cry to God, and wander about without food?” Job 38:41.

The mottled colors of the houses and branches reflect the uncertainties the world has to offer while a bird is framed with the colors and symbols of life - cherry blossoms above and eggs below, also representing new life and rebirth.

Daily newspapers are ephemeral- manna for the masses who seek answers to the wrong questions, solace from the ever-gnawing anxiety: What if...?

Most fears never manifest in a visible reality. But, sometimes they do. Sometimes banks foreclose and families are homeless. Sometimes vehicles are repossessed and caretakers are unemployed. What happens when a fear becomes visible? Is God still God?

In Matthew 14, Simon Peter walked on water toward Jesus until “he noticed the strong wind.” It is the force of the wind that determines the height of the waves, and the wind comes from God. The devil cannot live in the heart of a Christian but he can play in his mind and his 'what-ifs' can cause believers to focus on the height of the waves instead of the source of the wind.

The writer of Ecclesiastes said:

Look at what God has done: No one can straighten what he has bent. When life is good, enjoy it. But when life is hard, remember: God gives good times and hard times, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring.

Ecclesiastes 7:13,14 NCV

Consider is a visible reminder of a promise: “Consider the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they?”