The Exhibition of Life

July 16th, 2023

One of the most important lessons I have learned over the last few years is that when God is trying to say something to me, He will often say it several times, in several ways. So when I see the same interesting thing repeated in the world around me, I make sure to pay attention to it, so that I can understand His voice. As I quoted several times in the book, “Whoever has ears, let them hear…” (Matthew 13:43)

On July 16th of last year — just over a year after Bruce’s passing — one such repetition jumped out at me when I joined Margaret for a special event. Margaret’s collage and painting teacher was hosting an exhibition that featured several elegantly fused pieces, but one in particular stood out.

Psyche Chong’s Within My Heart

Of course, it featured glowing green butterflies, but this was not the only striking thing about the collage: it also happened to use the exact same page from Vogue magazine that Ming, an exchange student from China who was sitting next to me on a flight to Guangzhou, had excitedly shared with me. That journey was on January 4th, 2023, and the story of that trip was captured in the chapter, Chinese Butterflies (p. 166); this exhibition was half a year later.

January 4th, 2023: Ming’s in-flight reading.

(The Four Emotions of Christmas and Vogue Magazine)

Of course, as this was an exhibition that featured collages, the image I saw framed in front of me was slightly different than the one Ming had shown me months before. In Psyche Chong’s piece, several items were superimposed on top of the original, including a wooden chair, a couple of colorful sparrow shapes, and the Coco Chanel logo.

As I peered closer at the artwork, I saw that the wooden chair had a strange armrest that almost looked like a wooden ear protruding out of its right side. Like I said earlier, “Whoever has ears, let them hear…!”

At the time of the exhibition, our book team was busy putting the finishing touches on The Butterfly Effect before its publication. So the more I thought about the timing of this bizarre coincidence, the more it seemed like this was God’s way of saying, “I have heard you. I have listened to your heart, and I know that the plans I have for you are good. I am with you. I will always be with you.”

Lord, help me to love you with all my heart, mind (psyche), soul, and strength, and help me to hear your voice and see your hand in all things, that I may know you and praise you. Amen.