Thank Goodness It’s Monday!
I recently went to the metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. What an amazing place. And my visit, without my knowledge, was very well time for on special display was an amazing statue by Tullio Laombardo entitled ADAM. The marble statue was of Adam, the first created human. The statue itself is a beautiful piece of art that was carved in the 1490s to be part of an ornate tomb that replicated a traditional Roman triumphal arch. The statue was carved in such a way that depending on the angle in which you looking from, Adam appears to be about to take a bite from the fruit that brought sin into the world, or is speaking prayers to the God who created him (with the fruit hidden in his hand). But the beauty and brilliance of design is not the story that moved me.
Adam was taken off the tomb in about 1821 and bounced around collectors until the museum bought him in 1935. He was displayed into multiple galleries until in 2002, while on display at the Met in New York, the base he was standing on gave way and he crashed to floor in some 128 major pieces. What is amazing is that Adam is standing again at the Met and looks like he was never damaged. The display I was looking at was not only a display of Adam, but one detailing how he was painstakingly put back together to look exactly like his former self. The process took several years and several breakthroughs were found in art restoration through the process.
But the science, while intriguing, is not what hit me either. While reading the story and watching the video of how it was all done, my mind kept coming back to the real story. This was Adam. God’s original creation. Who fell and shattered humanity into tiny pieces. And yet after many years, and many trials, and many breakthroughs, God found a way to piece us all back together again. And while we may not see or understand it, as far as He is concerned, we are put back together in a way that you can’t tell we were ever broken. We are his restored masterpiece. My mind and my heart couldn’t escape the power behind looking at a statue of Adam, damaged and then completely restored while being reminded that I too am damaged, but by God;s grace and love and I am completely restored. And what a wonderful thing to see in a museum. I was reminded not only of His never failing love for me, but also of how He uses everything around me to remind me that He is the master creator and that everything is being whole again.
The piece is on special display until April and then it will be moved to a more permanent location in the museum. Hopefully the restoration story will remain with it so God can reach others looking at Adam the way He did me.
Be great today and remember, no matter how broken you feel, a perfect and complete restoration is waiting for you.
Thank Goodness It's...... 