I always have good intentions and I seem to be always chasing my tail to keep up with all my good intentions. I especially intended to consistently keep you updated with what is going on at The Prophetic Artist.
Well, if you have been receiving my eLetters (emails), you’ll know that intention went up in a whirlwind of smoke this past two months, mainly because I let myself get sidetracked with a couple of delicious projects. But, oh, all good intentions! I told myself I could write every day and paint every week.
My husband Andrew has the annoying habit of saying, “Good intention, bad outcome”. Apart from my guilt-laden response over not writing and not painting as intended, I didn’t see it as particularly bad. So recently I did a little info-search on what society – and God – thinks about good intentions.
WHOA!! It seems good intentions are thwarted with evil. Who knew?
Failure to undertake our intended good actions has consequences. It’s crazy to think that what we intend to do could have any effect, after all, where do mere intentions show up? However, I discovered research that shows the failure to meet our goals and plans affects thinking, emotion, and behaviour, and is often accompanied by critical self-evaluations. We become blind to how unattainable or unrealistic our goals and ideals can be, and this can lead to many forms of adjustment problems such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Apparently, it is worse than perfectionism! Perfectionists pressure themselves to achieve unrealistic goals that inevitably lead to disappointment.
Now don’t let this information send you to berating yourself for good intentions! No oh no, instead perhaps think about what role these good intentions have in your life. Have you been looking for a source of the disappointment you feel? Perhaps it stems from those good intentions sitting on your shoulder.
This was a good lesson for me. When I took this information before the Lord and peeled back where that feeling was coming from, I saw my good intentions were working against me.
Sometimes we don’t even know where the constant push-push of striving comes from. Other times we recognise it as a pattern of being told we don’t do enough, can’t be enough and aren’t good enough. None of it is true but we fall for it every time we compare our pace to someone else’s place.
Remember it is your race at your pace.
Meanwhile, please allow me to share what preoccupied me for two months. I published two books, quite different from each other but both with profound meanings that speak to different parts of our prophetic journey.
Firstly in March, my husband and I wrote “88 Days: Road to Recovery from Trauma”. If you’re looking for a powerful tool to help heal trauma and help you move forward with abundant life, with step-by-step guidance and practical suggestions, get your copy through Amazon. Don’t let trauma hold you back any longer, and don’t let trauma colour the conduit for your prophetic artwork.
Secondly, in April I edited contributions from 49 artists, photographers and writers – many of whom are members of The Prophetic Artist Community – in an anthology about the prophetic symbolism of Poppy flowers. I’m particularly proud of “The Voice in the Paint: The Blood Speaks. Symbolism of the Poppy in Prophetic Paintings”. The content of the book is stunningly beautiful, with 267 pages of deep thoughts and prophetic words. It’s also on Amazon just in time for Memorial Day. The foreword is written by John Schumann, writer of the song, ‘I was only 19’.
I shall leave you with one thought … let yourself off the hook for those ‘good intentions’. It’s time to walk free from unrealistic expectations.
Happy painting,
Blessings
Wendy