Laurel Burch

I recently began teaching an after school art class at a local arts school. I have three cute, rambunctious girls ages 7-8 in my class. The theme for the year is America and we have been studying various American artists as well as other aspects of America and tying those things into art related lessons.  

Our most recent lesson was on American artist Laurel Burch. I had never heard of Ms. Burch but I came across a lesson that looked pretty easy. When we discuss artists, I usually try to give a little background on the artist. I visited Laurel Burch’s website to do a little research.  

Laurel Burch was born with a rare bone disease called ostepetrosis. At age 14 she left her troubled home and wound up in San Francisco. She found sustenance by doing several odd jobs. Her art career began with her making jewelry for herself out of different things like old coins, bones, and beads. People began to notice them and she later started selling and trading her jewelry. Eventually her bone disease caused her to be either bed bound or confined to a wheelchair but this did not stop her from painting. She had this life motto:

“I refuse to have anything in my life that I can’t turn around into something magical and beautiful. I just refuse.”

She even considered her disease to be a gift:

“Being physically vulnerable is, in a lot of ways, a tremendous advantage in terms of human wisdom. My bone disease was my gift.”

I was thinking of Laurel Burch as a headache continued to pound inside my skull. At the moment I was less than grateful for the pain. Yet, here was a woman who was often confined, often uncomfortable, and often grateful. She did not moan and complain that life was unfair. Instead, she found the green grasses of life with disease. She spent her time meditating on what was important in life and left a legacy of artwork that indeed was magical and beautiful. May I endeavor to see all things in my life as a gift. 

“All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness...”  -Psalm 25:10 

Click here to see some of Ms. Burch's magical and beautiful art.  

My cat as a demonstration

Drawn by one of my students, age 7

Drawn by one of my students, age 8

2,000 Gifts

2,000 gifts and still counting.  Check them out at my new blog when you have a chance.  You may be one of my gifts!

Fall Musings

I went for a hike on this beautiful fall day. While hiking, I began meditating on how the seasons represent our lives. Each season brings blessing. Fall gives beauty and vibrancy that is unparalleled in the other seasons. It also brings death. The vibrant leaves are wonderful but quickly the color fades and what is left are dead, crispy brown leaves. I thought of how this shedding of leaves is necessary for the trees. I read that trees shed leaves to conserve energy and maintain moisture. In addition, the leaves that fall to the ground act as a mulch that insulates and gives nutrients to the tree roots.  

We experience seasons in our spiritual lives. We go through sparse, desolate winters. Eventually, the earth begins to thaw, life returns to the earth. We begin to thrive again. We get comfortable with the ease of life. Eventually we realize that difficulty, trials, desolation are again on the horizon. Our richness, comfort, stability begin to reach a crescendo like the fall leaves in the height of their vibrant colors. Like the trees, it is necessary for us to "shed" as well. It is good to shed the dead things in our lives. In comfort, we accumulate sin and often do not realize the harmfulness of it. It is imperative that we too are purged from the things that if left will zap us of our life. In the difficult seasons, our sins begin to fall to the ground and the decay of self begins to nourish our eternal souls. This nourishment allows us to get through the winter and we come out on the other side, fit vessels for new growth and new life.      

“We are apt to overshoot, in days that are calm, and to think ourselves far higher, and more strong than we find we be, when the trying day is upon us... We should be overgrown with flesh, if we had not our seasonable winters. It is said that in some countries trees will grow, but will bear no fruit, because there is no winter there. The Lord bless all seasons to his people, and help them rightly to behave themselves, under all the times that go over them.” -John Bunyan

Beautiful Emptiness

“From the best bliss that earth imparts we turn unfilled to Thee again.” 

-St. Bernard of Clairvaux

bliss  [blis]

noun

1. supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment

I remember several years ago I spent some time musing about marriage and thought if only I could get married my life would be blissful. Then I read Donald Miller’s book Blue Like Jazz.  In the book he includes a discussion with a friend who was a newlywed. Here is what his friend Paul had to say about marriage:  

“It’s like we are separate people, and there is no getting inside each other to read each other’s thoughts, each other’s beings. Marriage is amazing because it is the closest two people can get, but they can’t get all the way to the place of absolute knowing. Marriage is the most beautiful thing I have ever dreamed of, Don, but it isn’t everything. It isn’t Mecca. Danielle loves everything about me; she accepts me and tolerates me and encourages me. She knows me better than anybody else in the world, but she doesn’t know all of me, and I don’t know all of her. And I never thought after I got married there would still be something lacking. I always thought marriage, especially after I first met Danielle would be the ultimate fulfillment. It is great, don’t get me wrong, and I am glad I married Danielle, and I will be with her forever. But there are places in our lives that only God can go.” (p. 146) 

Here was my response to reading this:

“How amazing are You God, You designed an echo, a scent, a hint of Yourself in marriage. Marriage is the closest we can get to what our hearts ache for:  

to be known

to be loved

to be valued

to be complete

to be redeemed

We almost make it but in Your wisdom You left something lacking, leftover ache that causes us to look to You for it, You have to be our God, no human can be it all. There is still something greater than human marriage - union with You. A part of me wants to say its cruel to give us almost everything, to use all the pieces of the puzzle only to find pieces are missing. But to complete the puzzle on earth would prove You unloving, would prove that the greatest glory to be worshipped would be something temporal and not God Almighty. But instead You give us a taste, You give us hope of something greater. Our completion, our redemption, our value is this:  

‘I mean that to be in a relationship with God is to be loved purely and furiously.’ (Donald Miller Blue Like Jazz p. 146)"

This is the incredible beauty of emptiness, of lack. It is His way. God demonstrates over and over that this life and all it holds, both good and bad, is transient. My hope, my eternal bliss, my completion and redemption, it will come but not in this life.  

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”  -1 Corinthians 13:12  

For now, He creates lack in my life, He means for me to experience emptiness so I will indeed ‘turn unfilled to Thee again’. He means for me to find satisfaction and fulfillment for this life in Him alone over and over again.   

Check out the song that inspired this blog post here: 

"How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light." -Psalm 36:7-9

The Greener Grasses of My Job

Borrowed from a friend's Facebook Post

I was thinking today about a person I know who works in a factory. It made me stop and really appreciate my job. I get bored with my job sometimes and restless to move on to something new but the reality is that the hardest part of my job is trying to keep my eyelids open on sleepy days. I thought back to earlier days. I remember working at Taco Bell for a few weeks. Every night after work I would dream all night long about making tacos. Another former work experience involved a hairnet and a wage of $5.20 per hour, a whole five cents above minimum wage at the time. I worked harder and made less at that job than any other job.  At my current place of employment, I make well above my old $5.20. I get the coveted 8-5 shift. I get to spend all the major holidays with my family. I have paid sick time.      

I was also thinking about how thankful I am for my car. I’ve had the thing for almost 7 years and had to do very little maintenance. During my college and post college days, I was never really sure when my car would choose not to start.  It is a tremendous blessing to have a dependable car.  

Indeed, there is plenty of green grass underneath my feet.