Way back in 2011 I was experimenting with acrylic inks on watercolor paper after taking a workshop on acrylic inks. One day I was dabbling in a new design and not really sure how it would come out. It was mostly just blobs of colors, but as I looked at it, I thought it kind of looked like grapes, so I accentuated it with markers and colored pencil, just doodling around with it, experimenting like a "mad scientist". I didn't think it turned out that great. I've done better, but, it was fun. I'm more into the more realistic looking things, but, this was an experiment. I forgot about it until I was looking at my older website today and came across it again. I had forgotten I wrote a rather amazing thing about it. A story that we can all benefit from today, and that is FEAR. I think the story is better than the actual art work, in what it teaches. It was just an artwork about grapes. But I wrote something else into the story that is more important than the art. It's about what's going on today. FEAR. What giants are you facing now? Fear of war, the economy, your health, a relationship? Losing a dear one? What is your fear? What is keeping you from facing the giants and taking the land? What does grapes have anything to do with the story?
Sooo. here is what I wrote back in 2011.
Grapes are amazing! They are used to make so many wonderful things, from jellies, jams, salads, oils, wines, the list is endless. Every part of the plant can be used in some way. They are very medicinal as well.
Grapes are mentioned many times in the Bible and symbolic of many spiritual things. As the Israelites were ready to enter the promised land, the Lord told Moses to send out one representative from each of the twelve tribes to scout out the land. They were supposed to bring back samples of the abundant food growing there. Instead ten of the men came back with an evil report about powerful giants in the land, causing panic in the camp. They wanted to turn back to Egypt and slavery rather than face the giants.
Only Caleb and Joshua came back with a good report and said they could defeat the giants. They brought back samples with ONE cluster of grapes that had to be carried on a pole by two men! Thats a lot of grapes! God gave Israel physical evidence of His abundant provision waiting for them when they entered the promised land. The Israelites believed the evil story instead and wandered in the wilderness forty years because of it.
Because of their fear and unbelief, they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land until all the unbelievers had died off in the wilderness. Even though they had witnessed the most spectacular miracles, those twenty years old and up (at the time of that evil report) never entered the promised land because of fear and believing an evil report.
Whose report do you believe? Giants or grapes? I choose grapes.
When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. Numbers 13:23