I read of a painter who had two canvases for every picture he painted.  He always hung a blank, white canvas just above every painted canvas.  His reasoning for the unusual habit was simple.  The blank canvas contained all that he envisioned the picture to be, this was where the real work took place.  The other was simply the reality of all he considered in his thoughts and dreams.

     The most laborious part of making something a reality is the forethought.  This is where vision is vital.  You can paint your life in one of two ways. You can live by the paint-by-number design, where all you have to do is stay between the lines with the prescribed colors.  Or you can live by vision, and allow the blank canvas to become the palette where your dreams come true.

     Do you have two canvases?  Oswald Sanders said, “Eyes that look are common, eyes that see are rare.”  The only way to “look” at the God-given reality of your painted canvas is to “see” with the eyes of faith what the blank canvas could become.  Have a vision for the canvas of your life; the result will always lead to a beautiful picture.