Fluff

I have a sinus infection. Ew, gross, I know. But they're basically a part of my life and I've come to accept them and live with them. So the fact that I'm constantly blowing my nose is nothing new. But the fact that my head is so, as the great philosopher Winnie the Pooh would say, filled with fluff, that I have hard time thinking, focusing and retaining information. Good thing finals are NEXT WEEK. Curses. Now I can't tell the difference between thiocyanate and Thessalonians. I'm not sure if I'm studying Romanesque art or ribonucleic acid. Is there actually a difference between balancing equations in chemistry and balancing grain in patterns? And I'm still working on separating transepts in architecture from transits in astronomy. Needless to say, my brain is a befuddled mess.

And so I sit here in the computer lab on campus, silently bemoaning my poor state of mental affairs, and I look over at the wall and see this picture:

An interesting choice, I thought, for a computer lab. I think you can take this two ways:

First, as a representation of Matthew 7:7 where it says, " Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" Christ is knocking at the door and giving an example of what he has invited us to do. Here we are in a computer lab with a wealth of information literally at our fingertips. All we have to do is put in our keywords and there we go.

Second, and I think this is a little more applicable to my situation and you're welcome to take or leave this application, is that Christ is bringing us answers. He is knocking at our door with answers and we need only to open the door and let him in. I've seen this painting enough times to remember that there is no doorknob on the door. Logically that would mean there is only a doorknob on the other side of the door. That's the side of the door we would be on. Christ brings us answers but we have to choose to open the door and accept what he offers us.

I would like to take that interpretation both spiritually and academically. Christ can bring us answers pertaining to our spiritual welfare, but he knows everything, so why not let him help us through finals as well? My patterns teacher often reminds us that "the Holy Ghost is really good at pattern making." And it's true. God does not profess to be omniscient in only a few select subjects, but as the God of everything, he knows everything. He knows how to name my pesky coordination compounds in chemistry and he knows how much ease to add to the waistline of my draped skirt pattern and what the differences are between the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Certainly, I still plan to study, but it's a lot of information and I personally like the idea that I can ask someone to help me remember what I have studied. Especially when my brain feels like mashed peas.