FADE

We are all hoping that the Corona confinement is fading in the distance as more time goes by and we are getting into summer proper.  Summer sun, more than any other, makes everything fade that is left in it too long.  I once had a turquoise linen suit and I not only wore the skirt more without the jacket, but sat in the sun for lunch at work.  The day came when I went to wear it as a suit and the jacket was several shades brighter than the skirt... what to do?  They became separates after that. 

Then there is the end of summer when fall approaches and everything in the garden begins to fade. The leaves fall off the trees, the blooms droop, and all the lush green begins to turn into monochromatic brown. 

In our home, as seniors, we have an expression that says we are running out of energy at the end of a long day of chores or physical endeavors.  "I'm fading." One of us will say and the other nods in agreement and empathy. When I'm drifting off and getting drowsy watching TV or reading I use the same expression to alert myself to get off to bed. 

When I took my fine art lessons, we were taught two things about landscape painting.  The further in the distance, something is, the more 'gray' or faded you needed to make it look.  The other thing we learned was that in order to make something look more 'gray' or faded you add the opposite color on the color wheel.  Orange to blue.  Green to red.  Violet to yellow.  This makes them look 'muddy' and could also be watered down, or thinned with the right medium.   

Fading is also what happens when light is gradually removed, as in the dusk, a dimmer switch turned down, or even candlelight. (the latter known to fade wrinkles)   If something is moving away from us, like a vehicle on land, or a plane in the air, it will eventually fade into the distance and disappear.  We are all hoping and praying that this virus will hurry up and disappear into the distance, never to reappear again.  

So extreme light will fade items, and extreme darkness will block them from view.  At both ends of the scale they fade.  So do we. So does our wealth. James 1:11 says, "For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business." 

We may as well follow my Dad's advice before we fade away from life. 
                     Do your giving, while you're living.  So you're knowing, where it's going! 

---