Stops and Starts: Thoughts About Momentum

“An object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest unless an external, unbalanced force acts upon it.”  

I’ve seen this play out time and time again in my life.  I’m in the groove in my studio and I get a call that my kid needs to be picked up. I’m in a blissful state of sleep and I hear our door creak open and hear the quivering, small voice…”Mom?”  I’m a couple minutes behind (as usual) and we’re cruising along to get to an event and…screech!... I see train signals start and we get to sit and enjoy a view of the LONGEST train in history. 

There are outside forces that are constantly pushing us to keep going or that stop us in our tracks.  Sometimes the force is other people.  Sometimes it is a circumstance, and sometimes the force is supernatural. 

When I’ve got some momentum going in my own life, I feel in control.  I feel good. Like things are working and running the way I had hoped. In the middle of a season where momentum is carrying me, things just seem “easier.” 

It’s the beginning and the ending of that momentum that tends to be the frustrating part. Filled with groans and screeches. 

That’s where I find myself at the moment.  Not in the middle of the ease of momentum where things are going smoothly, but at the beginning and at the ending.  Where I have to change directions and take the first step toward something different or it’s time to let something go and get off the ride. Both are so hard and make me long for another season in the middle of some momentum.  

But this is where the character is built.  At the beginning and at the end.  This is where God meets us and where we have two choices…lift our gaze to the one who can carry us to the next adventure He has for us or “check out” and see what kind of new momentum we can build for ourselves.   

I’ve done both. The latter really sucks. It’s lonely, exhausting, and ends up being a very lackluster ride that you’ve paid out the nose for.  

But the former….that is where the magic is.  When the ride stops and I’m just a bundle of sadness and anger because I wasn’t DONE yet, I tell Him how I feel.  He gets to hear it all.  (If you want to see how this plays out in Scripture, read the Psalms.  150 chapters of pure honesty).  Then, when I’m all drained and empty after my adult tantrum, I look at Him and I take His hand and I ask what He has next.  He never tells me.  He just shows me. One step at a time.  

The next season of momentum begins and I get to enjoy the ride with my best friend.  

The body of work that I created for the Momentum show is very much about the internal starting and  stopping of momentum in my own life. And some are about the space in between when the wind is beneath me and I’m just carried along by something a force,  external and  bigger-than-me, started without my help.  (All the images that were shared in this post are collage backgrounds for the pieces that will be in the show!)

"Momentum" will be on view at www.artburststudios.com from Feb 20-22.  Works that are not collected during the online show will be showcased on right here on my available works page after the show closes.