Pieta

By



Adele is currently drawing Michelangelo's Pieta. 

These are the kinds of things that I walk in to the room to find my daughters doing, and it takes my breath away. 

And then I give glory to God for the beauty that fills my life. 

This image means a lot to me, personally. 

I was a high school freshman, a year older than Adele is now, when I saw a photo of the Pieta in my history textbook. 

We were studying the Middle Ages and even though the textbook called it the Dark Ages and had a decidedly negative view of that period, the age had a radiance that couldn't be suppressed, and my imagination was set aflame! 

The photo of the Pieta in the textbook was grainy, black and white, and tiny- maybe two inches wide and an inch high. 

Nevertheless...

I wept. 

Right there in history class with my head bent low over the text. 

I don't remember being embarrassed.

Interestingly, I remember that it was like I was hardly there to be seen.

I understand now why I was so affected.  

I was beauty-starved back then. 

I was a typical modern teen who spent more time at the mall than in museums.  

That masterpiece was a tiny window into the transcendent world. 

It was inches wide but large enough for God to reach through and touch my heart. 

I should say that the photo Adele has of the Pieta is large.

The figures are so sharp, they appear to be breathing.  

He fills my life with good things. 

He fills my life with Himself. 




 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

By
Image
"...the child should have a set time everyday to read for fun. Begin with half an hour for first graders, and build up to an hour of reading time daily... This is an important part of the child's education: it improves his reading skills, teaches him the habit of sitting still with a book, and reminds him that reading is fun... free reading ought to be spent on literature at or slightly below the child's present reading level so that he can simply enjoy himself. The easier reading will help him increase his speed." The Well Trained Mind: The Guide to Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer
Read more

Andrew Peterson's Songs That Celebrate Marriage and Family

By
Recently, I got to go to an Andrew Peterson concert at the Community Coffehouse in Danbury, CT. My dear friend and I didn't realize the show was sold out when we arrived.  But luckily, the lady at the door showed us pity, let us pay for tickets that didn't exist, and go in. We were willing to stand at the back, but we were able to find space on a bench at the back of the hall. I knew a few of the songs he sang that evening, but many of them were new to me because I have a hard time with new music.  I'd rather sing a song I already know by heart a hundred more times than hear a new song through even once. I know it is a problem that I need to work on if for no other reason than for the sake of my poor husband and daughters who have to hear the same albums everyday for a year. No, really. A year. At least. I have been giving myself permission to buy new music for this reason. So I came home that evening or maybe it was the next day and I purchased three of hi
Read more

Astronomer Shoe Boxes for Challenge B

By
Image
  Avril finished her astronomer shoeboxes for Challenge B.   The Challenge B students have all done research and projects on astronomers throughout this first semester.  Now, students choose two (or more) astronomers in secret and provide clues to the astronomers' identities in their shoeboxes.   For instance, if an astronomer made telescopes, sang opera, played piano, discovered binary stars or Uranus, studied eclipses, lived in a simple, log cabin, or made a map of Washington D.C., you might include some of those items to your shoe boxes as hints.  Student bring in their shoeboxes, and classmates get a chance to guess who the astronomers are based on what's inside the boxes.  Can you guess who Avril's astronomers are based on the pictures above?  Hint: Her two boxes actually represent three astronomers total.  
Read more