Little did I know when I invited him to pick me up for dinner that finding a cheap place for a bite to eat would be nearly impossible in this trendy Arizona community. We are running out of time, and I’m feeling a bit desperate.

Dave is one of my creative heroes. We’ve known each other since the late 80’s when we (under the shepherding of T.M. Moore) created an arts group for believers in suburban Philly. Dave is a sculptor who sees his work as a proclamation of the presence and goodness of God in his life.

Making a living from art can be daunting. But Dave is dogged in his pursuit of it. Over the years, he has continued to pour himself out through his art, regardless of the challenges.

Now, seated in a Panera that God graciously provided with just enough time to eat before it closes, David is regaling me with stories of the Lord’s recent work in his life. And what strikes me is that even in his mid-seventies, he still anticipates. He still sees waiting opportunities, markets to tap, pieces to create.

I show him some of my work on my phone, including the drawing above, illustrating Psalm 124:7 :

            We have escaped like a bird
                  from the snare of the fowlers;
            the snare is broken,
                  and we have escaped!

Dave is excited. He sculpted the same verse with the same elements of a hand and a bird. Later he sends me photos.

I love the use of the metal column and radiating spikes to represent the trap. Look at the organic shape of the bird that flows out of the hand which itself flows out of the snare. The hand being in the trap is striking: what a picture of how God is personally involved in our rescue. This is genius on Dave’s part: it captures not only the verse in the psalm, but the gospel as well.

I have much to learn from my brother-in-arts. Boldness. Directness. Perseverance. And an unflagging optimism that doesn’t focus on the traps of life, but on the hand that always frees us from inside them.

Lord Jesus, great deliverer and redeemer, thank you for how you break the fowlers’ snare over and over. And thank you for the people you put in our lives who live fearlessly for you. Who inspire us to keep looking ahead and anticipating the next great work that you’ll do in our lives.