At a Window’s Glance
(Finding a God-Thing Among the Minutiae of Life)
By: Danny Von Kanel
Carol’s voice conveyed little interest when I showed her a unique painting discovered in an obscure website. She only said, "I am planning on going to Covington to the mall and see what I can find."
Yet, little did Carol, our choir president, know that God would direct her journey home after choir rehearsal to find the exact painting I found buried in this website treasure trove.
The search for the perfect painting materialized in response to our sanctuary choir deciding to refurbish our choir room. A new coat of paint, renumbering of folder holders, musical clock, and musical wall mountings left only one thing undone: finding the perfect painting to hang on the center wall which combined musicianship with a touch of spirituality.
Carol’s Wednesday schedule meandered uneventful like most others, until God intervened. Her trip home usually meant a predictable route. Not his time. Needing to go by the post office, God gently nudged her towards the downtown Bogalusa way. Driving slowly because of traffic, her eye caught one store lit up like the White House. At a window’s glance, Carol notices some sketches on the back wall. Pulling in to a parking place, she gets out and peruses the paintings. To her amazement the same perfect work of art that had caught my eye but not her initial interest hung on the back wall.
The next morning Carol went back to the store to inquire about the painting. She told her story to the owner. Puzzled, he said, "One of my employees worked last night. They must have left the lights on." Carol and I know that God left those lights shining.
Another intriguing aspect to this story involved the mounting. It was a perfect match to our new choir room colors and did not need to be remounted or reframed.
How Great Thou Art by Lorraine Brewer hangs in our choir room a testimony to God’s greatness. It’s choosing and our subsequent find is a miracle. Only God finagles circumstances -- circumstances of a buried painting at the bottom of a website, driving home a different way, slow traffic, a highly visible store when otherwise dark, and an exact painting with perfectly matched mounting.
Carol’s lack of interest at the beginning of our search is no more because now she says, "God chose that painting."
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Built by the Owner's Design, CSS Publishing, 2003
Building Sunday School by the Owner's Design, CSS Publishing, 2005
Both books by Danny Von Kanel
