December 24th, 1914, the tune of Silent Night is heard by British soldiers in the German language, leading to a momentary truce in the trenches of World War 1. Over 100,000 soldiers put down their guns for the day, exchanged makeshift gifts, buried their friends whose bodies lay in no-man’s land, and traded Christmas carols rather than bullets.
According to Time magazine, a British soldier later remarked, “I then came to the conclusion that I have held very firmly ever since, that if we had been left to ourselves there would never have been another shot fired.” Adolf Hitler, a Corporal not yet risen to power, thought the exchange a sign of weakness not fit for honorable Germans in the midst of war. (You can read more of the Time article here.) Sometimes, like the British soldier, we feel stuck fighting battles we never would have chosen for ourselves.
So, why am I relating a Christmas story as we head into the sunny/rainy months of spring? Because, as I thought about the verse above (Psalm 118:14) I thought of how often music is used in battle. Soldiers sing as they march. Horns were blown as the Israelites marched around the fated walls of Jericho in Joshua 5 & 6. Marching bands (now associated with parades and football games) originated as groups who literally marched into battle, waving the banner (Latin origin of the word “band”) of their cause and spurring troops on to victory.
Often enough, life IS and feels like a battle field! Whether we are personally fighting for our lives against an illness, or have friends/relatives fighting similar battles. Or we’re fighting inner battles against hurts, wounds, shame or sin from our past. Perhaps we’re fighting voices in our head that say we’re not “enough” or that we’re not “loved.” People fight battles against depression, anxiety, anger, fatigue, eating disorders, addictions. As Pat Benatar once sang, even “Love” is a battle field.
And on this battle field of life, we need music! We need the rhythm of words of encouragement to step up our beat when our feet trudge the long miles of a rough road (1 Thessalonians 5:11). We need a banner waving in the wind, reminding us that we’re not alone but are cheered on by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). We need silent, holy nights of respite to rest our heads (and our hearts), gaining strength for the next day of battle (Psalm 4:8). We need truth sung and spoken over us when Satan’s lies are like flaming arrows aimed straight at us (Ephesians 6:10-18).
I love Psalm 118:14 because it sums up our best defense in all battles! “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” There is another verse in Psalms (Psalm 20:7-8) which says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.” We can put our trust in just about anything. But only God himself is able to protect and strengthen us. Anything else we trust in will collapse and fall (and we along with it). However, when we hand our weakness, our fear of failure, etc. over to God and rely on His strength it’s a game-changer! Isaiah 40:31 states: “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they shall rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”
But God isn’t just our strength; He is also our song! In the midst of the trenches, we can raise our voice and sing. Praising God disarms Satan. It frustrates him and throws him off balance. When I am anxious and overwhelmed, my mom often says, “Pause now. Pray. Then sing the Doxology out loud. It always helps!” And she’s right! The words of the Doxology are: Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen. As I pray and sing, my heart begins to calm. Hitler didn’t understand the God of the universe. He understood only war and lust for power. Satan doesn’t understand the God of the universe. John 1:5 says, “A light shines in the darkness (Jesus), and the darkness has not overcome it.” Or, some translations say, “the darkness has not understood it.” Whichever way you translate it, it means that Satan’s power and understanding are limited. The simple act of singing praise to God is powerful. It fights battles. The God who is our song fights our battles for us. The God who is our strength and our song saves us!
About the Artwork
The violin above was painted for a friend of mine who leads worship at our church. She also happens to be a mom, pastor’s wife, and a nurse. I had an old, cracked violin someone gave me years ago (when people know you’re an artist, they give you random stuff to paint on). Her recent birthday seemed like a good excuse to finally use that old violin. The process took a lot longer than I’d anticipated, including sanding surfaces and wood-burning the verse into the front. And I went through several failed designs and color-schemes before the final coat of paint you see here. The plum blossoms are in honor of her heritage (she was born in Korea). Violin represents her love of music and the fact that she plays that particular instrument. The rich color-scheme was based on recommendations from her husband. In the year or two that I’ve known her, I’ve seen her live out Psalm 118:14 on a daily basis. Because God is her strength and her song, she can pour out His love for her onto other people.
This isn’t my typical blog post or art sample. But I had an opportunity this past week to try something new, and I think it’s something many of you could do as well! Whether looking for an activity to keep your kids busy on a snow day, teaching an art unit at school, or planning a workshop for VBS next summer…this lesson can be applied at all age levels and all ranges of artistic ability.
Last week I was in Guatemala with 77 degree weather, sunshine, and volcanoes! The school where I teach takes high-schoolers on a Mission X week each year. For this year’s trip, I went to Antigua, Guatemala with 11 students and 2 other coworkers. My task for the week was to lead a watercolor (aquarelle) workshop for 7 teenage girls at a school there. I didn’t know what to expect but ended up loving the girls and every step of our process! The lighthouse collage above was the end result for me. However, this project really is all about the process. Below are the daily steps if you’re interested or want to try this at home!
Day 1 – Creation
For the first day, we went back to Genesis 1, reading several verses about creation. As God created “a great light to rule the day and lesser lights to rule the night,” we took a 9×12 sheet of watercolor paper and white oil pastels. With the oil pastels, we drew stars and moon (which of course you can’t see…white stars on white paper). Then, using dark washes of blues and purples with black, we made the stars appear!
Next we looked at Psalm 19:1-4, which says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth; their words to the ends of the world.” What a thought! Doesn’t matter where you live or what language you speak, everyone loves when God paints a gorgeous sunset! So, we painted our own sunsets with a wet-on-wet technique. For wet-on-wet, you “paint” the page with clean water, only leaving dry the areas where you want the whitest clouds. Then you tease pinks and oranges into that wet page, letting them swirl and mix, creating a tie-dye effect. To soften the edges of clouds, you can use your finger to smudge where the pink wash meets the white dry space.
Photo Copyright 2024 Samantha Flores
Now I asked the girls: what are your favorite parts of creation? They answered with: flowers, animals, trees, mountains, ocean. On a new 9×12 sheet, I demonstrated how to make grass texture using dry-brush technique. You mix greens and yellows on your tray. Then squeeze all excess water out of your brush. It works best with a stiff, coarse brush. Take a small amount of paint and, starting at the bottom of your page, lift up with your strokes. Layering several shades of greens, yellows, and browns gives depth to the scene. Switching to a small round brush, we pulled short lines in a star-shaped pattern to create flowers. Or we clustered dots of color as lupines or lilacs.
We had time for one more painted page, and the girls voted on ocean. With our paper turned horizontally, we used blue oil pastels to draw curved rhythmic lines. Then with a large brush, we pulled long strokes of blues and greens, leaving thin lines of white where we wanted foam or spray to be. Once finished we hung our scenes on a line to dry. Note: don’t hang the wet-on-wet sky scene until it is partially dry…otherwise colors will drip down the page.
Photo Copyright 2024 Samantha Flores
Day 2 – Destruction
The curriculum we followed is based on a non-profit organization called Athentikos. Click the link to learn more about their programs! One of Athentikos’ goals is to allow time and space for people to process and heal from difficult or traumatic things they have faced in life. On Day 1 we focused on creation. However, we live in a broken world where not everything is pretty. Day 2 we started with the “ugly” colors. Using only browns, greys, and blacks, I instructed the girls to fill a new 9×12 page. They could use washes, spattering, or harsh texture marks.
While these pages dried, we looked at several passages in the Bible. I had three students from my school helping in the room (Samuel, Annabelle, & Sofia). They took turns reading passages and asking questions that would prompt discussion with the Guatemalan girls. First we looked at Genesis 3 and how sin and brokenness entered the world. Then we read Luke 22:41-44 with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. As he cried out to God, anxious about the cup of wrath coming, we talked about what it feels like to fight with your parents. Jesus had had perfect unity with his Father from before time existed. Now he was about to face abandonment and wrath. We talked about his being betrayed by a friend, Judas. We read Matthew 27:27-31 where Jesus is spat on, beaten, and taunted. Finally, we read Luke 23:32-47. So much happens here! We see Jesus allowing himself to be crucified. We see criminals, one who mocks him and one who believes in him. We hear Jesus forgive those who are crucifying him. We hear Jesus forgive and welcome the one criminal to paradise. We see darkness consume the sky and the curtain of the temple rend as God himself is sad and angry. We see a Roman centurion’s faith as he watches this innocent man die.
Day 2 is as much about discussion as it is about art. Looking at the world’s brokenness and Christ’s willingness to be broken on our behalf, we revisited the brown paintings. Using black Sharpie marker, I instructed the group to add words, drawings, doodles, markings that represent troubles they’ve faced, their fears or failures. Things they’ve done or have been done to them.
The room was quiet for a while as students worked. Afterwards, I asked if anyone was willing to share. A couple girls had tears in their eyes and several flipped their paper over to hide what was written. I shared what was on my page. It had many dark patches and angry marks, including a doodle of a face screaming. In one corner I wrote about my uncle who had struggled with alcohol for many years. I spoke of being angry because I felt he had chosen alcohol over us (family who loved him) and how I was angry enough to kick a concrete wall the day I found out he’d died. As time passed and we understood better everything he’d struggled with and how his death came about, my anger lessened. But I will always miss him and wish he were alive and with us today. The 3 students from my school shared theirs as well. Some responses were as simple as “I’m afraid I won’t fulfill my dreams,” or “I fear I won’t make my parents proud.” Others included lies Satan throws at us like, “You will never be loved,” or “Why are you even here on this earth?”
Fears and past hurts are part of us but shouldn’t control us. So, as we finished sharing, we each took the brown page and tore and crumpled it into pieces. All pieces were thrown into a clean empty waste basket in the middle of the room. This felt very good!…fairly therapeutic!
However, the brokenness of life has affected even the beautiful parts of this world. I asked the girls: “Do you trust me?” They responded with, yes. “Then I’d like you to take all of the beautiful pages of creation you made yesterday, tear them up and throw them in this basket as well.” This was much harder! It’s easy to destroy something that haunts you. It’s not fun to destroy the things you are proud of and worked hard to accomplish. I laughed as I shared that I was starting with my least favorite page from the creation day. We slowly tore up every page until the waste basket was full to the brim. I wrapped up by saying, “Today was a hard day! But don’t worry. Tomorrow is another good day where we’ll make wonderful things again.”
Day 3 – New Creation
Day 2 was hard, and we left Jesus on the cross. But we never want to leave him there for long because we know he rose again! For Day 3 we read Matthew 28:1-10. We talked about how the women felt when they arrived at an empty tomb with an angel guarding it. We talked about how they felt when they met Jesus face to face! And we talked of their response when he asked them to go tell the disciples all that they had seen. Next we read 2 Corinthians 5:17 which declares: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!” Christ defeating death on the cross meant that all of the brokenness of this world was starting to come undone. We still see and feel the hurt around us. However, we have hope because he is making all things new!
To prepare for today’s art activity, I read Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to the class. Thankfully, the school in Guatemala had a copy of the book written in Spanish. Paula (my side-kick and awesome interpreter for the week) helped me with pronunciation as I read aloud. I knew the story well enough to know where to put voice inflection. The girls appreciated my efforts and clapped at the end! Note: children’s books aren’t only for children! They can be a wonderfully simple, visual, entertaining learning tool for all ages. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” was a perfect transition because it’s about making poor decisions, growth, and becoming something new. And the Eric Carle illustration style is exactly what I wanted as examples for our new art creation. I had saved several samples of his work on my phone and showed them to the class.
Now came the fun part! We dumped the waste basket of scraps onto a table. Everyone got to make whatever collage scene they wanted from our pile of scraps. I passed out 12×16 white paper, scissors and glue. Some chose to sketch a basic plan in pencil before starting. And for the rest of Day 3 and part of Day 4, we created! A few girls finished their first scene and made a 2nd one. One of my favorite scenes was Sasha’s “El Gato Y Chimenea.” Her cat loves to climb out on the roof of their house (casa). She had a full moon in the upper left corner with a chimney and the back of her cat sitting next to the chimney looking at the moon. What a clever scene! Her design had pieces of night sky from several of our paintings. And all the dark parts of the chimney and cat were made up of our brown, sadness pages.
That’s what I love most about this activity: the sad and difficult parts get mixed in with the lovely pieces! My lighthouse has angry marks from Samuel’s page and difficult things that Paula has faced. It has stars and sky from several students. Melany’s mountains are made mostly of night skies. Aida’s sunset over water includes flowers in the foreground from 2-3 kids’ dry-brush pages. And Yahaira’s whimsical guitar includes dry-brush grasses for the neck and purple flowers as the decoration on the body of the instrument. Bringing our artwork home, we all got to take pieces of the people we came to know and share time with.
Day 4 – Community
Our final day together was about displaying our work! Family and friends came to see all the dances, worship and artwork that had been created throughout the week. Display doesn’t have to be fancy. We hung our collages on string using clothespins. The girls had fun designing their artist statements, which were taped below the artwork. Many of the girls took time to embellish the page with drawings or borders around their writing. Some were written in English, many in Spanish, and a few translated into both languages. There was much laughter and talking as siblings, parents, grandparents came through to see artwork.
Then we had a large-group presentation where a few of my girls read their artist statement out loud and shared their artwork. Aida was our spokesperson for this presentation. She talked of how nervous or scared they had been on Day 1, coming to work with strangers with unknown expectations. She talked of the watercolor techniques they learned and how fun it was to create beautiful scenes. She described the day of troubles and how it was easy to tear up their troubles. She said it made them sad to tear up the paintings they had worked hard on. Then she shared that the collages they made from the torn pieces were even more beautiful than the original pages had been. I had seen in my short time with her that Aida was a leader who protected those around her. It was a pleasure to watch her speak with confidence, representing her peers in front of a crowd of people!
Final Thoughts
Our group spent about 2 hours each day for this project. However, it could easily be simplified according to the time available and attention-span of your audience. The Bible passages we read through worked well for my teenage group. Choose whatever readings or discussion questions are appropriate for your time.
Most adults draw at the level of a 10-year-old because that is the age when their parents or grandparents stopped encouraging them to draw! Mommy and Daddy will eagerly display little Sally’s artwork on the fridge when she is 5 years old and has an adorable smile with missing teeth. Then Sally hits her teenage years. Her teeth now have braces and the ready smile has been replaced with moody attitude. She may even pretend not to care whether you keep her artwork or throw it away. But if you DO disregard the work she’s done and toss it carelessly in the trash, she’ll remember. You don’t have to keep it forever! But use it as a jumping-off point for discussion to learn a little more about your teen. From the time spent this past week I learned that Merli feels relaxed and refreshed when she is around trees. I learned that Fatima loves cameras because they give her a chance to savor beautiful moments in the world around her. I learned that Japanese Cherry Blossom is one of Samuel’s favorite trees, that Yahaira lives to create music. And I learned that faith is key to everyday life for Paula.
“Soy Arte” translates as “I Am Art!” Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song years ago with a chorus that says, “I can see the fingerprints of God when I look at you. I can see the fingerprints of God, and I know it’s true: you’re a masterpiece that all creation silently applauds. And you’re covered with the fingerprints of God!”
In my painting career, I’ve gotten to illustrate heaven twice now. The first was for an illustrative portrait of my grandma. It was an oil painting where she was seated with several of us grandchildren (and kids from her church) around her. A man (our friend Keith Caleb) was standing with his arms raised to heaven, worshiping, and above him were the golds and warm tones of throngs of people in heaven all facing Jesus. It’s strange that the place where we will spend the most time (eternity!) is so little talked about in the church. It’s as though pastors are afraid to “get it wrong,” so they focus instead on life here and how to walk by faith. Not so my grandma. She LOVED learning about heaven and teaching about heaven. In fact, she led a Bible study on that subject for over 7 years with several friends and ladies from her church.
Grandma would have loved to see me working on Oak Street Treehouse #3: The Day They Had A Party. (I’m guessing she does know and saw me working on it, according to many people’s interpretation of the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1.) In Oak Street #3 an old gentleman from their neighborhood often visits the kids at their treehouse. He’ll sit and eat cookies, tell them stories, teach them songs in Spanish. And he shows them a photo of his wife who passed away years before. Someday he’ll see her again in heaven. Spoiler alert…an ambulance comes and takes Grandpa GG away one day. The kids find out soon afterward that he has passed away.
The Oak Street kids have never faced death before. They have had a puppy or goldfish die, but they can’t comprehend saying a permanent goodbye to someone they love. Honestly, even as adults we struggle with this. Death never feels “right” because we weren’t created to die. It wasn’t until Genesis 3 that death entered this world. And though it was conquered by Christ on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:55-57), we still live in the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4).
As in the previous Oak Street books, the kids message God for help in processing the loss of their friend and neighbor, Grandpa GG. God helps them see that they can celebrate the life of their friend because he is in heaven and they will one day see him again! I love the next scene in the book. Families from all over the neighborhood come out to celebrate George Gonzales’ life! I like the simplicity and innocence of this scene. The Oak Street kids have planned and decorated their treehouse. They’ve made cookies and lemonade, a poster where people can write their memories of Grandpa GG, and a board of photos sharing their own memories of time with him. What has changed in their situation? Is their loved one still gone? Yes. Do their hearts still hurt when they miss him? Yes. But they trust God. And the action of bringing people together to fellowship and celebrate reminds them that they have hope. Romans 8:22-28 says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time…hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express…And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” In ALL things, good and bad, broken or whole, in spite of the evil in this world, God works for the good of those who love him. Romans 8:38-39 goes on to say that no thing (good, bad or evil, our present or future) can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
copyright 2023 Mollie Bozarth
About the Artwork
The scene of heaven was one of my favorites to illustrate! I used bright colors, sweeping landscape to show the vastness of new heaven and new earth that we’ll one day get to explore. Grandpa GG is greeted by his wife but more importantly, he gets to shake hands with Jesus! Friends and family who’ve gone before him gather to welcome him in. I kept Grandpa GG and his wife in the same clothing and age of what the Oak Street kids remember him being because that is how they would imagine him in the scene. Jesus has the nail hole in his hand because Revelation 5:6 describes him as the only being in heaven whose scars from earth remain…he is known by his scars. No one can truly capture heaven in a picture book page. But I’m happy with the glimpse I was able to give readers.
The scene of the goldfish burial was another favorite to illustrate! When I Googled “goldfish burial” for ideas, I saw everything from plastic orange goldfish-shaped cases that people can buy online to a Pepsi-can cut open and stuffed with cotton as the final resting place for the beloved pet. The Pepsi-can was more in line with what the Oak Street kids would use. So, I took that idea and looked around my house for small containers similar in style to the metal can. My large toothpick box seemed just right! Half the top opens to retrieve toothpicks. I posed it and sketched the scene. The word “toothpicks” happened to be upside down when you open my container. But I like that touch! Seems to add a bit of innocent humor to the illustration.
The original plan was that Oak Street #3 would be the final in a trilogy. Dick Daniels has already mentioned ideas for a 4th book, so you can watch for that possibly in 2025. But at the time of illustrating this, I wanted page 32 to be a finale kind of shot. Dick and I discussed a montage of photos, and the resulting illustration you see above. The photo of his wife is stylized after several photos I found of older Hispanic women. However, Grandpa GG is based on my brother’s classical guitar teacher from college. From the moment Dick Daniels described the Grandpa GG character, I have pictured Ner Rojas in the role. He’s a teddy bear kind of gentleman who loves kids and is easily believable as the “Grandpa of Oak Street.” Ner also inspired the backdrop for the heaven scene. He is originally from Peru. So, I used Peruvian mountains sweeping down toward the group of people. And one of the people greeting him in heaven is Ner’s friend (and mine), Bill Rehr. These are the things we illustrators get to do! We weave our own stories into the imagery of a book. Ner and Bill have each lived out the verse that Dick Daniels chose for the back cover of this book. It is from Psalm 78 and says, “Listen…I’ll let you in on sweet old truths, stories we heard from our fathers, counsel we learned at our mother’s knee. We’re not keeping this to ourselves, we’re passing it along…so the next generation would know, and all generations to come – know the truth and tell the stories so their children can trust in God. Never forget the works of God.”
AMEN! I was blessed to be raised by parents and grandparents (even Great Grandparents) who told us the stories of God’s love. I was blessed to have mentors and “adopted” grandparents at church who also shared faith and love. If you are one of those parents or grandparents to the kids around you, THANK YOU! You are blessing the next generation and helping to fight the curse of this tired world. Whether your family has faced loss and death recently or not, I highly recommend the Oak Street Treehouse series to you, especially this 3rd book about heaven. These books make great baby shower gifts, birthday or Christmas gifts! You can find links for buying the books…and fun coloring pages or mazes…at our website: www.oakstreettreehouse.com – check it out today!
One of my nieces has a stuffed bunny whom she named “Flumper.” At the time, she and her sisters had been watching Disney’s Bambi. So, her sisters corrected her, saying, “You mean Thumper!” Her response was, “No! Flumper!” And thus the name has remained. Flumper is one of her favorite stuffies. For her birthday recently, I decided to paint a T-shirt featuring that much-loved bunny. And since I haven’t featured a T-shirt painting on the blog in a while (see Holiday Heritage from 2014), I thought it was about time!
When painting on a shirt, place cardboard inside to stiffen it. Then fold any excess around the back and hold the cloth in place with painter’s tape. Typically, I’ll sketch the design in pencil. However, the black shirt made it hard to see any pencil lines. This time, I “drew” the form with white paint, blocking in the entire figure…kind of like priming the surface. A couple coats of white followed by a couple coats of aqua gave me the base. Finally, I finished with highlights, shadows and details. Minor touch-ups around the edges of the character could be done with black paint.
Of course, here I am posting a painting of a bunny on Easter weekend, when bunnies and eggs are my least favorite part of Easter! I did look into the history behind the bunnies and eggs theme when prepping for this blog. Apparently, the Easter Bunny himself came from German immigrants in Pennsylvania in the 1700s. Sounding similar to Santa’s naughty list, the thought was that the Easter Bunny would travel from house to house, leaving eggs in a nest for “good little boys and girls.” Kids would put carrots out (like Santa’s milk and cookies) to feed the bunny since it traveled many miles to many children. Decorating Easter Eggs harkens back to a time when eggs were a forbidden food during Lenten season…dating possibly back to the 1200s. People would decorate the eggs to mark the end of their season of fasting. Then, on Easter morning, eating the eggs was part of the celebration! Cool! I like that one a little better.
I went into one of the box stores last week, hoping to pick up a few Easter-related treats to send to my youngest nieces. I thought SURELY there would be something other than bunnies, eggs, and chicks to find there. Sadly, 97% of their items had nothing to do with the real meaning of Easter. However, I did find 1 little shelf with 2 children’s Bible options and The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story. Shout out to Stan, Jan and Mike Berenstain for building such a popular family of bears that even the box stores will feature their book with a Christian message! The book wasn’t fluff either. It talked about Pontius Pilate, Christ going to the cross, and the celebration of resurrection on Sunday. I was happy to see that the 1 little shelf of books was almost sold out.
So, why Easter? What’s the big deal about it anyway? Well, since this post is inspired by a kid’s T-shirt, I’ll try to stick to simple and childlike faith for you. Why do I love it!?
Because death has never felt “right” whether we lose someone who is 5 or 105. And the empty tomb is a symbol of Jesus defeating death on my behalf!! (Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O grave, is your sting? ~ 1 Corinthians 15:55 & Hosea 13:14)
Because love is not love unless it’s willing to walk through the valleys with us. And the ultimate love is willing to die for us, thus driving out fear. (Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13; There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. ~ 1 John 4:18)
Because I can let go of anxiousness since Christ faced a doozy of a panic attack and now sits beside his Father, advocating for me. (And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. ~ Luke 22:41-44; For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. ~ Hebrews 4:16)
Because I am a broken person in a broken world but He makes me new! (Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Because my heart, soul, mind and strength need a Savior, and He understood that. (The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ~ John 10:10; Let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:1-2)
Easter is Hope! Easter is Life! Easter is a breath of new air in our lungs. Enjoy the bunnies, chicks, and eggs. But if you let it stop there, you’ve missed out on SO much more.
How do dogs know who “their person” is? I’ll never fully understand. But, when Jack became “my” dog, he fully understood that he was now mine. And, under the circumstances, it could have been confusing for him! My brother and sister-in-law bought him as a puppy. They named him Jackson Marco, but he’s always been called Jack in honor of my grandpa. Jack Leininger was what we call a dog whisperer. All dogs loved him! And many dogs through the years would leave their homes and masters to make their way over to my grandpa’s house. Grandpa was strict with dogs. He’d give them his stern voice and correct them if they were out of line (barking too much or jumping up on people). And they would obey because they respected and loved him. So, “Jack” was a perfect name for this family dog. It only became confusing when the two Jacks were in the same room together and Grandma called Grandpa by name.
Fast forward 6 years. My brother and sister-in-law had many transitions going on all at the same time and needed a new home for their precious puppy dog. Everyone knows Jack and several offered to take him. I too offered. However, my brother thought I was offering “just to be nice,” so they planned for Jack to go to a young family with kids. The night before this exchange was to take place, Jack was at my house. I was in tears. I really loved this dog! Of course, when my brother and sister-in-law realized how serious I was, they let me keep him! They called their friends and explained the situation. Then I sat on the floor, tears still running down my cheeks, and Jack came over face-to-face with me, nuzzled me, and I hugged his sweet head. I told him he was going to be my dog now, and he understood. I was his new person.
We know he understood because my parents actually kept Jack for the next several months at their house. (My brother and sister-in-law were living with me with a toddler and newborn whilst selling their townhouse and buying a new house. Having a barky dog in that mix would have been too much!) I would go to my parents’ house to walk him, play with him, heft another 40 lb bag of dogfood. And Jack waited at the door for me. He was still fond of my brother and sister-in-law. However, he acted from that day forward as though I were “his person.”
I’ve had Jack for 7 years now! He’s 13 and still leaps and bounds like a puppy on walks or around the back yard. People see him and think he’s half his actual age. I’m hoping that means he’ll be around for a couple more years. Jack loves rolling: in snow; in grass; in mulch. I avoid using mulch in my yards for that reason. He rolls and rolls and comes up looking like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. Jack loves toys! The older he gets, the longer his toys last. Since he has a doting grandmother (my mom), he has a vast array and knows them all by name: Mallard, Hedgehog, Manta Ray, Alligator, Long Alligator, Lizard, Dragon, Lute…the list goes on. He must greet you at the door with a toy in mouth. If surprised by a doorbell ring, he rushes around looking for one to bring and greet you. (Once, my toddler niece was surprised that he grabbed her Lamby out of her arms because he couldn’t find one of his toys at that moment with which to greet people.) However, he doesn’t bring you the toy for you to throw it. Fetching is something he’ll only do indoors and when full of energy (because he hasn’t had his walk). So, if he greets you and you take the toy from his mouth and throw it, he’ll look at you like, “Why did you do that!? Now I have to go find another one to greet you with!”
Jack is an easy-going dog. But every once in a while he insists on attention. His favorite spot is on his sheet, next to me on the couch. Too big to be a lap dog, he’ll lay next to me and push my hand up with his nose any time I stop petting him. Sometimes, if he feels he hasn’t had enough attention for the day, he pulls out Lizard while I’m watching a movie. Lizard has the biggest and easiest squeaker of all his toys. Then he’ll walk around sounding like a bike-horn, “honka, honka, honka” at the saddest or most serious parts of the movie.
Nonverbal communication is his specialty. He’s a dog of few words yet always manages to get his point across. If left outside in the backyard, he has two barks. One is his declaration bark. It’s joyful and possessive and aimed away from the house to tell other dogs or random passersby that this is HIS yard and he owns it. The other is his desperation bark. It is an insistent though terse “Woof!” aimed at the back door when he wants to come in and fears I’ve forgotten him. Inside, he rarely barks at all (which is great)! There is of course the intruder alert bark when someone comes to the door, though the sound of that bark changes pitch if he realizes it’s Grandma or other family/friends. When he’s hungry he actually won’t bark. At my house, his food is down all the time, but he may need to tell me when he’s out of water. At my mom’s house Pippin prowls and pounces on any chance to eat Jack’s food. So, his food bowl sits up on the coffee table until Jack comes and looks hard at my mom. (He won’t tell me, he tells her.) Then we know that he’s hungry and will put the bowl down and coax him to eat. For water or needing to go out, he paces, coming up to you, then walking away, then repeating until you get the message.
Though perfect in most ways, he is by nature a retriever. So, I find bunny nests with baby bunnies strewn around in the back yard. And one time he caught a chipmunk on the sidewalk during a walk! I had been pulling my parents’ dog, Pippin, away from the struggling chipmunk (who seemed to think he should dig a hole to get away rather than simply running to a nearby tree) when Jack leapt at the rodent and retrieved it for me. His mouth is gentle, but I think the little guy died of a heart attack. I told Jack to drop it, which he did. The chipmunk didn’t move any more after that. Sorry to say with 2 dogs in tow, I couldn’t do anything about the body. I left it there and moved on. (Chip & Dale were my favorite Disney characters growing up. So, the chipmunk incident was a sad moment for me.)
Of course, 13 years has a lot of stories! I’ll stop now. Hopefully, if you’ve gotten this far, you’re a dog-lover yourself and can relate to similar memories with your pets. I know Jack won’t always be around. But I am ever thankful for the time I’ve had with him! Just last evening I was working on illustrations upstairs in a spare bedroom at my parents’ house. He decided I’d been out of sight for too long. So, I heard the tippy-tappy toenails coming up their wooden staircase. His nose pushed the bedroom door open, and he came to lean up against my chair and insist on a good scratch. Then he lay down next to me and waited until I was ready to stop work and head downstairs. He’s a good old man, and I love him!
About the Artwork
I haven’t completed a digital painting in many years!…possibly ever! This one was started as a demonstration for my Computer Graphics & Animation class this fall. Typically, you work with a Wacom Tablet and pen for digital illustration. The pens are pressure-sensitive, which gives more of a natural stroke to the brush work. However, my new school doesn’t have tablets and pens yet. So, all the fur texture was tediously completed by changing brush sizes and using a smudge tool to taper lines. Not a fun process!! Started as a demonstration, I finished the painting in my spare time. Truly, stubbornness is the only thing that kept me going. I knew that if I could make it to the end, the result would be worth the pain/effort. And I could use it as my Christmas card this year. Thus I finished the mammoth (or Mallard) task. I’m very glad I did! I wanted to tribute Jack now while he’s still alive and healthy. Because I know when it’s time to say goodbye the words won’t come so easily.
Babies are so much fun!! We’re rediscovering that this year with a new nephew in the family. He is a joy and a snuggler, easy-going. But also knows how to project his voice and make his joy or frustration known with bursts of “AAAHH!” or “GAGAGA!” (Funny how universal baby language never changes.) Our favorite this Thanksgiving week was when he would smile hugely at my youngest brother, then suddenly go all solemn…chin down, brow furrowed, staring intently at Christopher as though contemplating the safeness of this bearded “stranger.”
Living 500 miles now from 8 of my nieces and nephews, the memories we make when together seem extra sweet. Playing games; watching the college-age nieces sit and read to the little ones; listening to my oldest nephew dissect basketball with his dad as several of us went to see a Bulls vs. Celtics game; the experience of “herding cats” when my mom and I took my little nieces to Hobby Lobby on a shopping expedition. There are also memories with my siblings as we managed to get everyone together once or twice during the week. I got to play “HORSE” with my sister-in-law, brother, and a family friend. The 2 of us who play the most basketball lost first (something wrong with that picture!). But it was a lot of laughs…including my sad attempt at a 360 dunk after my brother made one effortlessly on an 8′ high hoop.
A verse I memorized long ago expresses what most of us feel in the season of Thanksgiving. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Good and perfect; shifting shadows. This year had its fill of both. There were things like chronic illness, doctor’s diagnoses, surgeries, uncertainties of selling home and moving…a wide array that affected our family and loved-ones. There were joys of new baby nephew, new job and friends, my oldest brother and sister-in-law’s trip to Italy, a job for my oldest niece right out of college. Jesus, in John 16:33 reinforces that thought: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Even the week of Thanksgiving there were shifting shadows. As my grandma would have said, scares and issues popped up where “Satan was trying to steal our joy.” Trying to get 20+ people together can be complicated. That’s why I’m SO thankful that the God who gives us the good and perfect is not like shifting shadows. When plans and possibilities are shifting, He is stable. He was a rock for us that week as we came to Him in prayer, looking for wisdom in navigating the uncertain. I am also thankful for a family who comes together in prayer. Because of that, peace and protection thwarted the attempted stealing of joy.
About the Artwork
This drawing was done as a demonstration for my Art 1 students. It’s been interesting to work in a new school, new state, and to see what my “new kids” can accomplish. I was impressed with how well they did on our grid drawing unit. Many were extremely detailed and took a lot of time blending and refining the pencil shading.
I love the expression on Little Guy’s face in this portrait! He kind of reminds me of a happy frog. The folds of cloth around him frame the scene. His interlocking fingers were difficult! But, as I tell my students, drawing is merely dissecting shapes. With painting it’s all blobs of color and putting the blobs in the right places. With a pencil drawing, it’s about mapping out the lights and shadows. Still blobs, just blobs of light and dark, hard edges and soft edges. The more you can disengage emotionally from the subject (and simply think of it as shapes to translate) the better chance you have at a successful portrait. This can be hard as an artist – especially when drawing something or someone you care about! However, if you can tackle it objectively, you’ll find it’s worth it in the end. When finished, the pieces come together as the face or scenery you love.
In books and movies, foreshadowing hints at what is coming. We know when Elizabeth Bennet says, “I believe, ma’am, I may safely promise you never to dance with Mr. Darcy,” that she will in fact marry him by the end of the story. In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, we see the main character, Charles Darnay, described as a “look-alike” to Sydney Carton in a courtroom scene. “Look well upon that gentleman, my learned friend there,” pointing to him who had tossed the paper over, “and then look well upon the prisoner. How say you? Are they very like each other?”…And, while we may not know how their fates will intertwine, we do perceive that these identical strangers will impact each other significantly.
In my real life, June of 2021 was a foreshadowing of what was to come. Of course, being the main character in my life story, I had no idea at the time! I was visiting my sister in Franklin, Tennessee, and she asked me to do an oil painting for her birthday. The subject of the painting was a farm across the street from her neighborhood – Gentry Farm. So, we found several photos of the farm, and I compiled them together into the painting you see above. At the time, I was simply having fun with washes and clouds, letting things dry for a while, then going back with a tiny brush to add texture to the ground and details to the barn. It’s a small painting, about 8×10 or 9×12 in size. I hadn’t heard of the farm at the time. Finished the painting and went home to Illinois to start my 18th year of teaching/working in District 204.
Fast forward to February, 2022. Like all teachers coming out of our “Covid and hybrid” year, I was burnt out. Stress levels were high with the governor’s mandates. Staff felt isolated: eating lunch alone in our rooms; struggling to get students back to some semblance of normalcy; playing catch-up with curriculum, skills, and maturity levels that had all drifted the 2 years before. I was very thankful to be face to face with my students again! And I loved coaching badminton again! But many things told me it was time for a change. My parents had already joined my sister, moving down to Tennessee. And I had begun to apply to teach at colleges within a couple hours of their new home. My thought was that I would move in the next 1-3 years. First week of February, I remembered a conversation with my sister about a small private school in Franklin. So, I researched GCA (Grace Christian Academy), saw many positive reviews and evidence of a growing, thriving community, and decided to put in a general application. At the time, their website showed openings for a middle-school computers teacher and a graphic designer. Either of those were possible fits for me. However, God had better plans! The day after applying, I received an email from the HR gal at GCA saying that they hadn’t posted the job yet (were planning to post it tomorrow) but needed a high-school art teacher starting in fall!
Thus began several hectic months of finishing repairs and updates on my Illinois home, selling that house, buying in an extremely competitive housing market in Tennessee with every-rising interest rates, settling into a new home here, and jumping straight into a new school year, including coaching 2 sports for GCA. For the moment, I am between coaching seasons. I’ve started work on illustrations for a third and final book in the Oak Street Treehouse series. And today is the first Saturday I’ve had time to sit and post a new blog update in 2022!
Now I drive past Gentry Farm on a regular basis when visiting my sister. I haven’t been to the farm yet, but have seen its popularity during pumpkin season! Lines of cars park in its fields as police direct traffic on and off the highway. My commute to work now includes llamas, goats, donkeys, cranes (or herons?), horses, and many cows. My favorites are the pygmy goats and donkeys. For the first time in my teaching career, a rooster crossed the road in front of me on the way to work! Apparently, he was trying to get to the gas station. It’s been an adjustment to figure out new traffic patterns, new routes, new budget, and where to find utensils in a new kitchen layout. Also, new students, new school culture, and new coworkers, neighbors, church, etc. However, people have been very welcoming. Coworkers and admin at GCA have been helpful and supportive. I’ve been developing and updating curriculum for the school’s art program, as well as doing part-time graphic design work. So, it’s been a great fit based on what they need and specific skills I was able to bring to the job.
While I do miss students, friends, and staff from my old school, I am thankful for a smooth transition so far. I also, greatly miss family back in the Naperville area and friends from my old neighborhood and church. But we get something called a “fall break” here in Tennessee (an entire week off in October)! So, I was able to travel back and visit many people while on fall break.
If God had told me in June of 2021 that my world would be turned quickly upside down and I would be living in Tennessee 12 months later, I might not have believed Him. And, I may not have been ready for the news yet. Instead, like all good writers, He used foreshadowing. Now I can look back at the painting and the time afterward, see the storytelling thread…and it all makes sense.
On the western most edge of the Isle of Skye, you can park at the top of a cliff. A metal pipe handrail and steps hewn by chisel and dynamite take you down, down to a grassy area below. Gulls dip in and out of nests wedged into the sheer rockface around you. Sheep graze the short turf, laze in sunshine, or leap agilely amongst the stones. An aerial cableway soars now overhead from the parking area above. It was designed to lower provisions to this isolated spot. Its cables stopped turning long ago. Having made it down the cliff, your legs are tired jelly now. But you’ve yet to see your destination. Another mile walk across soft, boulder-strewn turf brings a lighthouse into view. Not what you expected, the towering main structure is surrounded by a compound of keeper’s cottages. The buildings are bare rectangles, flat roofs, painted stone, nondescript. Huddled together, they’ve held strong through a century of wind and waves. My dad and I wander the complex, peering past rotted woodwork and peeling paint through dusty panes. The insides look cozier than the outsides. Lace curtains still hang intact. Kitchen table, cupboards, stove are tucked inside beyond the lace.
Neist Point Lighthouse was designed by the Stevenson family. You and I know the name from Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Dr. Jekyll& Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped, Treasure Island) or perhaps D.E. Stevenson (his cousin who wrote British/Scottish novels in the 1940s-60s). But Robert and Dorothy were outliers in the Stevenson family. RLS was expected to follow in generations of footsteps of lighthouse engineers. While he and D.E. have given me countless hours of reading to escape into when my world is stormy, his predecessors’ work was no less important. Just four months before the Neist Point light was lit in 1909 a cargo ship crashed against those cliffs. Its crew survived but the boat is buried beneath the waves. Standing near the lighthouse and looking down, you can imagine just how essential its beacon is. Gulls swoop and spray flies a dizzying distance below. The foamy spray swirls around bases of jagged rocks. This coastline is by no means predictable. The Point itself juts out far into the sea (a mile, based on our morning’s walk), with knuckles and fingers of coastline unfurling to the north and south. Even on a sunny day like our visit, danger is evident.
The daughter of a sailor (can read more about that in Chi-Town Sail blog post), I remember many moonlit sails on Lake Michigan. Blueberry juice sky above seeps down into blueberry juice water below. Moonlight and starlight reflect in ripples that lap against our boat as it skids through smooth darkness. It’s quiet there. A slight musical sound as mainstays chink against the mast. There’s a lulling feel to this motion. Though I feel the power of the wind propelling us forward, I could easily, drowsily be rocked to sleep. My dad is at the helm. So, it’s safe to sleep. After decades sailing in Chicago, he knows the harbor like the back of his hand. He’ll guide us safe to shore.
In spite of a drowsy lull, I know the hazards of dark around us. Three lights are guiding my dad as we skim. A green light and red light mark the harbor wall entrance. Forget which light should be on your starboard side, and you’ll end up on the rocks designed to protect that harbor. You can’t rely on moonlight to show the top of that boulder wall. For, clouds or fog can obscure the moon. Water levels and waves can diminish the boulders. They become camouflaged pebbles, seeming harmless yet able to sink a Titanic. We have seen rescue teams out there before, looking for bodies or wreckage when an unwary speed boat forgets to watch those lights. Another light, the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, stands tall and sturdy, its beam reaching out into Lake Michigan since 1893. On our quiet moonlit sail it’s a comforting hulk of a landmark to sail past. But not all nights are like this one. Winter winds and waves can roll across this Great Lake, driving walls of water up over the harbor wall, up over the city’s edge, swamping even Lake Shore Drive. During these storms the lighthouse isn’t merely comforting, it’s essential.
With all the craziness of the past few years, life can feel like I’m sailing blind. Sometimes the dark surrounding me is like a moonlit sail in the calm waters of a familiar harbor. Though I can’t see the obstacles I sail around, I know signs to watch to navigate safely. For me, these signs come in the form of wisdom from friends and others who have navigated these waters, or the green and red beacons of the God who designed the harbor. Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Other times the dark is overwhelming. Swells of waves lift me up and drop beneath me. Walls of water, fog, and heavy cloud obscure any moonlight. As my stomach turns summersaults and the sails lash and luff, unable to propel me in any good direction, I look up, searching for a horizon. There my gaze can fix on a steadfast light. John 1:9-10,5 says, “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. His light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
That is what I most appreciate about lighthouses. The darkness and storms cannot overcome them. A song by Rend Collective states:
I won’t fear what tomorrow brings
With each morning, I’ll rise and sing
My God’s love will lead me through
You are the peace in my troubled sea
You are the peace in my troubled sea
My lighthouse, my lighthouse
Shining in the darkness, I will follow You
My lighthouse, my lighthouse
I will trust the promise
You will carry me safe to shore
Just as the darkness cannot overcome the Light, swells and storms cannot do more than toss me around. Isaiah 42:16 says, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known. Along unfamiliar paths I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are things I will do for them; I will not forsake them.” Trusting that promise, and resting sure on a solid refuge of foundation, I rise each morning and sing. I can look back and see the obstacles I’ve been brought safely through. I can look forward and see a new heaven and new earth up ahead. A city that “has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (Revelation 21:23) My lighthouse; I will trust the promise He will carry me safe to shore.
I’m not much on “Fan Art” per se, but I am a fan of my nieces and nephews! And my nephew who is 16 requested a large painting (30″ x 30″) of album cover art for his birthday this year. The musician is a rapper called “NF” and the album is titled, Clouds. I thought a huge painting of clouds would be pretty easy! I’ve painted clouds and sky plenty of times. But it was actually a challenge to study cloud formations as a large-scale focal point. My mom suggests it’s because they are amorphous forms. And, I guess that’s it! They can’t be totally abstracted or they won’t look realistic. Clouds are fairly translucent. So there was a lot of layering of subtle color shifts and soft edges going on. I blocked in the basics with a sponge. Then worked my way toward details using smaller brushes and a bit of finger painting. I love the little figure sitting there – love the surreality of the image and how the skin tones bring just a touch of warmth to an otherwise neutral design.
If you like rap or know a teen or preteen who does, I highly recommend NF! His full name is Nathan Feuerstein, and he’s been on the scene since 2010. My nephew has had me listen to a lot of his stuff, and it’s good! Most of you know I teach at a public high-school. As I’ve asked students if they are familiar with the artist, I’ve found that several do know and listen to him all the time. They listen because he actually tells stories with positive messages in his work. And he’s clean, which is hard to find. He hasn’t had an easy life. So, he can relate to the tough stuff teens and young people deal with. But his messages are typically about hanging on and making something good, of acknowledging and working through the tough things, and seeing purpose in your life. My nephew has all the lyrics of all the songs memorized. It’s fun to hear him singing/rapping along in the car. So, if you are looking for a good influence on your teen’s music choices, check this guy out! And, NF, if you ever read this blog post…my nephew lives about 15 minutes from you and (though he doesn’t technically babysit) he’s really good with his younger cousins and would probably love to help you out if you ever need a sitter…
The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were not limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.
~ Helen Keller
copyright 2021 Mollie Bozarth
Teaching is like unwrapping a package whose contents you know nothing about. Every day, students come into my classroom and walk out the door 50 minutes later. Noisy, friendly, squirrely, eager to learn, hard to keep focused, quiet, even silent, hesitant, anxious, exhausted, solid, trustworthy, deep. 120 or so each semester, and for many students I will only know the surface…whatever they show me in class. But I know from experience that there is more. So, I look (at posture, body language, eyes, artwork content) and I ask (simple questions inviting them to talk about work or family, weekend plans or hobbies) I listen (for insights from them, from parent emails, from counselors) and I respond (engaging in conversation, relating, adjusting my teaching, challenging them to grow). A few students I am blessed to know fairly well by the end of their 4 years of high school. I learn as much from these as they do from me.
Anne Sullivan must have felt that way about her student, Helen Keller. We know from movies, plays, and books that Keller seemed a lost cause and hopeless individual when she and Sullivan first started working together. Oh how much the world would have lost if her teacher had written her off or if Sullivan and Keller had not persevered through the challenging parts of teaching! Proverbs 27:17 states, “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Through 49 years of teaching, mentoring, and friendship, Anne Sullivan got to see firsthand the depth and capabilities of this remarkable young person.
Four years ago, a young lady walked into my classroom to join Art Club. Through several years of art classes, Art Club, Literary Magazine Club, lunch-bunch mentoring, and Independent Portfolio development, I got to know her and her family pretty well. The above painting was completed as her graduation gift. I’ve come to find out that I have many things in common with this gal’s mom (including woodworking skills and interests). Perhaps that is why she has always felt comfortable and safe in my room. I’ve learned a lot from her insight, her perseverance, her stubborn determination, and her care for those more vulnerable than herself. I’ve challenged her to work through art skills and life skills, to think about audience, purpose, motivation, and voice with the things she creates. Iron sharpens iron. I know that this young lady has been through more in her short life than most of us will ever face. Yet, by God’s grace, she stands, looking out across the horizon, keenly aware of the “rewarding joys” this life can bring.
Helen Keller didn’t know my student’s story. Yet her words strike a chord with us now. “For the Grads” is a series of blog posts I’ve written over the years, based on artwork created for students as they’ve graduated from my classes or from the church youth group with which I volunteer. Keller’s message seemed appropriate for a graduating class who spent the last 15 months of their high-school career in a constant state of change, uncertainty, and (in some cases) social/emotional/physical challenge. My prayer for the 2021 grads is that they breathe the fresh air, feel the wind and sun on their face, drink deeply of rewarding joy in this hilltop hour. And as life continues with times of dark valleys and limitations, they perceive the presence of a God who walks with them (Psalm 23), promising more hilltops to come.
molliebozarth 