the art of predecession

word of the day? predecessor. see also: lanette. not because i am one, but because i have a lot of them, tending as i do to fall into the category of professional place-taker. what got me thinking of this was that i'm getting ready to go to an art show of the woman who taught at our school for ten years. not only is she a professional artist, but she is an award-winning one. these are not the only huge mocassins i have been called to inhabit.

there was the beloved children's pastor, poster-child for grandmother of the year (retired)
and then the PhD in literature (died)
not to forget the revered professor of religious studies (sabbatical)

and...me, now known as the art teacher (she moved). it's humbling, really. at first it's all shock and nerves. then you come to realize that "whom God calls He also equips." in other words, folks, it's not about us! when we're nervous, though, we tend to try too hard (last year), be defensive, or prove something, forgetting that our best work comes when we relax, take a deep breath and quit trying to be something or someone we're not. with time, we inhabit our new role, wiggle around a bit, take risks, try new things and make it our own.

we, after all, are going to be a predecessor for someone else who might shake in our shoes, so we might as well just go ahead and be ourselves. now that's art.