Pondering the Beauty of Trust

Via Pulchritudinis
The Way of Beauty
 
By Sharon Clossick

The New Adam and New Eve, Oil on Canvas, 18 X 24", Sharon Clossick

​BE WATCHFUL AND WAIT.  Waiting…I’m sure we can all agree how difficult this can be.  In life we wait for so many things.  The more I think about it, our entire lives are centered around waiting!  Waiting in line at the checkout, waiting in anticipation for a new baby, waiting to hear about a job offer, waiting for broken relationships to heal.  We are always waiting for the next thing.   The season of Advent is all about watching and waiting. 
 
So, what would waiting have to do with pondering the beauty of trust?  Well, for starters, waiting requires trust.  I find waiting to be very difficult, especially if it’s something I’m waiting on that’s important!  Trusting can be difficult and requires a certain sense of hope for all we anticipate working out best.  But what happens when things don’t go our way?  We put ourselves out there and trust, but our hearts can be broken when the results are not what we anticipate.  It is here where we begin to experience what true authentic trust is all about.  When things don’t turn out how we’d like, it might be that Jesus is asking us to TRUST in HIS way.  These are the times when, instead of choosing to become bitter, we instead are called to cling to God, “trusting” that He knows what is best for us.  How do we live this kind of trust? 
 
Recently, I received a beautiful book on the Litany of Trust – a daily reflection on developing full trust in God, the kind of trust that will bring true peace.  Since I’ve begun the daily reflections, I’ve been pondering on what all this really means.  In hindsight I realize now how much I rely on myself to get through difficulties, even when I think that I’m relying on God.  I confuse myself by thinking I’m trusting when in fact, I’m not.  Sometimes it takes very difficult situations to show me that more trust is needed in my life.  When we don’t have the answers to difficult situations or we feel that God is not hearing our prayers, we can somehow get trapped into thinking that there will never be a way out.  This way of thinking creates barriers and does not allow God into those areas of our lives that are keeping us from experiencing the peace and resolutions that God so deeply wants for us.  The truth is that God is asking us to pour ourselves out in complete humility to Him, never losing hope.  One of the ways in which we know we are completely trusting is if we can wholeheartedly abandon ourselves to Him, faults and all.  It takes complete surrender to look honestly within ourselves, even if it hurts.  This feels like a risk, and it is!  So, before we decide to take this risk, we must first understand that God will still love us within our messiness and faults.  It is wrong to think that we have to be perfect in order for God to love us. God is not a tyrant and does not point fingers.  Rather, He opens his arms and meets us where we are.  He won’t condemn us but will instead gently correct and direct us to where we need to be.  I don’t know of anyone who would want to open their hearts to a God who would only make us feel rejected and shamed.  So, it is necessary to accept God as a loving and merciful Father before we can surrender our whole selves to Him. 
 
Throughout my reflections I’ve been asking myself the question, what does trust look like in my life.  What is authentic trust?  Do I trust my loved ones and other people I interact with on a daily basis?  If I lack a sense of trust toward others, what is the cause?  This, for sure, takes much reflection!  As I was praying recently on this, a memory popped into my head.  At first glance it may not seem like this story I am about to share has much to do with trust, but really, it has everything to do with it.  Trust stems from love.  The more we love and the more we are loved, the more we will trust.  If we have hearts open enough to receive God’s unconditional love, then our trust will flow more easily to those around us. 
 
A couple months ago I attended a daily morning Mass at my local church.  As I was walking back from communion, to my surprise I noticed one of my daughters in the communion line.  I had no idea she had been at Mass, as she had been sitting in the back of the church.  I chuckled a little to myself, but also felt a sense of gratitude and peace that she was there.  After Mass ended, I walked to the back of church to see my daughter but did not want to interrupt her as she was kneeling to pray, so I simply walked up and gently kissed her on the forehead.  It was a simple sign of acknowledgement to show her I loved her.  There have been countless times where I kissed my children on their foreheads, but for some reason there was a tenderness in this moment that I couldn’t help but recognize.  Afterwards, as I was driving to work and reflecting on that quick exchange of love, I suddenly realized that this simple act of kissing her on the forehead was something my own father had always done with me.  It was, in a sense, his way of showing his unconditional love for his children.  Without consciously realizing that I learned this from my father, I subconsciously passed this on to my own children.  That day God showed me that even small gestures of unconditional love have a profound impact in ways that we could never imagine.  For sure this is God’s beautiful work at hand. It was trust on the part of my father to offer his love to me, and trust on my part to share this love with my daughter. 
 
Christ loves us perfectly and if we spend time with Him in the quiet of our hearts, we will begin to learn what Christ’s love is about, even if just a little.  This will start to teach us authentic trust for God and for the people in our lives.  At the core, solid relationships are built on basic trust and respect for one another.  My dad understood God’s unconditional love enough to express that love unconditionally to me, and as I learned love from him, I was able to express that love to my children.  Love has a ripple effect.
 
In my new painting, “The New Adam and New Eve”, we see the contrast between Adam and Eve in Genesis and the New Adam and New Eve in Mary and Jesus.  Let me explain…In Genesis, we know that Eve’s disobedience caused original sin to enter the world.  Eve was tricked by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of life and then in turn, Eve shared this fruit with Adam.  You will notice in my painting how Adam and Eve are looking at each other rather than towards God.  Out of shame, they hid from God.  In contrast, Mary keeps her gaze on Jesus, as He gazes in pure love toward her.  There is an exchange of complete and mutual trust.  Mary holds up the chalice as Jesus pours out his body and blood for us.  God gave Eve her name because she is the mother of all humanity, which is why we refer to Mary as the New Eve.  As Christ looked to Mary and John from the cross, he spoke the words to Mary: "Woman, behold your son", and to John: "Behold your mother".  Mary represents all of humanity.  She is our Spiritual mother.  When Mary spoke the words at the Annunciation: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word”, it was her response of full trust in God’s will.  This allowed God to enter creation for our redemption.  Since Mary, the New Eve represents humanity, her “yes” can also be our “yes”.  What an example Mary is for us!  Christ has come to redeem you and me!  I find it no accident that the liturgy readings today are Genesis 3:9-15, the story of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and Luke 1:26-38, the Annunciation of Mary.  How  beautiful that this writing and my painting just happened to find it's completion on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  It's amazing how God weaves His loving way throughout the tapestry of our lives.
 
So be watchful and wait.  Be watchful to find Christ in the everyday moments of our lives and in the little ways we interact with one other.  As we sit and wait for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, we just might discover a transformation of profound love and trust like we’ve never experienced before, if we only keep our gaze upon Christ, as Mary did.
 
This painting is dedicated to Bill Murphy, a fellow artist, who has gone home to our Lord.  He was a living example of authentic trust.  Thank you for your example, Bill, and may you live in the peace of Christ forever. 
 
 
ART UPDATES: 
 
I look forward to sharing a painting I’ve been commissioned to do for a beautiful couple that will be released in January. 
 
I hope to do more paint workshops in the winter and spring months so keep an eye out for new announcements.  I hope you will participate!
 
May your Advent season be holy and blessed as you wait for the coming of our Savior.  God bless you!
 
 
Peace,
 
Sharon

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