Do you ever get a hankering to just drop everything and get away? But you can’t?

I got home late last night from a great weekend of ministry mixed with family time in Austin, TX. Had a fabulous time talking and painting about The Leaning Life (Proverbs 3:5-6) with the ladies of Woodlawn Baptist.  Austin is such a beautiful town in the Texas Hill Country and the weather was so gorgeous on Sunday, I found myself wanting to stay and play a few more beautiful February days in that fair city.

But, no, life goes on. I had a plane to catch and a calendar full of appointments and responsibilities to take care of at home this week. 

So what can a creative girl with a hankerin’ heart for travel to far away places do when she longs to get away— but she can’t?

She can create.

The painting above came out of a time a few years ago when I was longing to see and smell lavender fields in some obscure corner of France or Italy. I had no possible way to make that happen, so I pulled out my paints and started to create what I imagined it would look like.

I like the way the painting turned out and hope that, someday, I may stand on a European hillside and see a scene like this. I imagine gasping as I utter halting, breathless words, “It’s just as I imagined…”

I can’t explain it, but, somehow, in the process of painting this imaginary place, it eased my longing heart. I think it’s because I went there in my imagination. Hankering solved.

I’ll always be a hankerer, one who feels a strong desire for or to do something. I thank the LORD for the beautiful gift of a creative imagination that let’s me mentally get away to places when I can’t physically get away.

The Pondering Palette: Is there a place where you would like to get away to today, but you can’t? Sketch it. Find photos of the place online (create a Pinterest board). Write a poem about it. Compose a song about it.

I’d love to see what you create!