Almighty God,
please
give me the wisdom
to know that I am not wise.
I tend to slip that mask on,
thinking it a clever guise.
But I am typical of the youngest,
and though I crow and jest,
my insecurities show through,
even through my best.
Can I give myself as a canvas?
Would you take the brush?
I believed I was so artful,
but my colors were muddied
and rushed.
I’d rather the master
paint me,
and Your signature on me be found.
Your name will then be spoken,
and I will delight in the sound.
© Joel Tipple
Write here, Joel. 
Lately, I’ve been feeling like a large stone God is chiseling into a work of art. It can be painful, but it is also wonderful.
Someone once asked a sculptor how he accomplished his art. He replied that he simply chipped away everything that was not a horse. I suppose God is chipping away everything that is not Tony! Well, maybe the Tony He has in mind, anyway.