By Sarah Fujimoto
I found out this morning of a serious diagnosis in my immediate family. Not knowing how to react, what I was thinking or feeling, I just sat there numb. I have never experienced something to this level with someone that is so close to me. So I sat and I cried. Not feeling strong emotions; the endless well of tears seemed to continuously flow throughout the day. Just when I thought I had it together I would think of something and begin to cry, again. Needless to say my eyes are thankful for rest tonight and moisture.
Art heals. Sometimes when I write I get inspiration in the oddest places, usually without pen or paper nearby. I try to remember what is going through my mind at that time to take note of later. Today I got the idea to write about how art heals, thinking of how it has been integrated in my life in this way in my past.
As I Ieft the house to go spend some time at a coffee shop to think about this all, I thought that perhaps I should practice what I write about and went back to grab my drawing pad, pastels, and pencil box.
As I sat at the coffee shop, huddled in a corner I just stared at my bible. I didn’t have words to say at that point to God and as I flipped through the pages of the bible, felt that I wasn’t really receiving much except the comfort in the mind numbing activity of moving pages back and forth.
A page seemed to naturally fall open, to a place where a bookmark was. The bookmark was received this past summer during at interesting time in my life. It had a painting on it from ThomasLift and at the bottom it stated, “By His Stripes.” A picture on Isaiah 53:5, I stared at it for some time. I began to get a new picture in my mind so I began to draw it out.
Life began to come in, and I felt that without the words that I didn’t have I could express something that was going on inside of me and receive something as well. There is something so soothing to me about putting a drawing object to paper and drawing. Just moving the pencil back and forth brought peace.
Lately I have been thinking about what things I truly desire, enjoy, love, and what things stir up my affections towards God. Art is definitely one of them. Whether it is art for you, or something completely different, my hope is that you would discover that thing or things and embrace it. Enjoy it. Seize it. Develop it. Discipline it. Sow into it to reap greater impact and reward.
When forms and have tos cannot express the emotions going on within, I believe it is these very things that bring words to dry and thirsty mouths and shapes and forms to lifeless things. May we find life as we develop them, use them, embrace them, and give them away to others around us.
Sarah currently resides in an inner city community in West Philadelphia. She is attending Eastern University in St. Davids where she will be getting her Master of Arts in International Development this June. She enjoys exploring, learning, sewing, creating, dance, youth, writing, drawing, music, and painting.