FAMILY ART SHARES A JOYFUL GRIEF

It all started with a hurricane named Katrina.The children at North Bay Elementary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi no longer had a place to play. A group of fireman who had been first responders at 911 volunteered to build them a new playground.This was the birth of the "Where Angels Play Foundation". (See featured post at right.)

 Since then they have built 47 playgrounds up and down the east coast, Canada, and even one in Rwanda. Most of the playgrounds have been built in memory of children who died much too young. These projects include 26 playgrounds erected in memory of the Sandy Hook victims.

Many of the playgrounds feature art created by the children: 

Playground in Ocean City, N.J. in memory of Sandy Hook victim, Benjamin Wheeler.

Playground number 48 is scheduled to be built in Sarasota, Florida, in April. It is being built in memory of our boys, Chris, who passed at age 14 from cancer, and his younger brother, Jarrod, who died in an accident at age 21. To have our children associated with this tremendous act of love is an indescribable honor. Click here for more info.

So, like the other parents we were invited to contribute art for our playground. But as we dug through our boys' childhood drawings most of what we found were battle scenes with flaming tanks and smoking airplanes plummeting through the sky. Typical boy stuff, but not quite appropriate for a peaceful playground.

Being an artist, I set out to create a fitting memorial for our boys. For Chris, it would be feathers. In my book Christopher's Journey there is a chapter entitled "A Feather Under My Pillow" which tells that magical story. Read more. Chris also had a huge collection of Star Wars Legos. This inspired my first drawing:

Psalm 91:4: He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Then I had a wonderful idea. Why not invite family members to contribute their art ?! One of my husband, Rob's, favorite memories with Chris was a beautiful day at sea when they caught a hammerhead shark. (Of course they threw it back.) To commemorate that occasion our granddaughter, Saradi, sketched this:

Our Jarrod was a gifted athlete. So our nephew, Sean, drew this image honoring Jarrod's prowess on his bike:

My sister, Maureen, had several unusual butterfly encounters after the boys went to be with the Lord:

Perhaps most touching of all was our eight year old granddaughter, Skyla's, tribute to Uncle Jarrod's love of fishing and all things aquatic:

You gotta love those lips!

It has been my immense pleasure to integrate these drawings, and more, into a completed design. The final image will be a two color etching displayed at our playground that will be unveiled in April. I can't wait to share it with you!

 Perhaps you too are grieving and have family members who are able to express their love in some creative way:

• Woodworking
• Quilting
• Gardening
• Collage
• Poetry
• Mural
• Sculpture
• Scrapbooking
• Music

For more ideas click here.

As for my family and myself we count ourselves grateful that our project is one that will benefit our entire community and connect us with other grieving families around the world. Best of all our artwork will be bathed in the laughter of children.

Exodus 35:35 ESV / 

He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer

Have you designed memorial art? I would love to see it. Did this blog post inspire you to create? Tell us about it. I would enjoy sharing your projects in a future blog.

AT 81 SHE MARRIED THE BOY NEXT DOOR

I've heard people say, "It's such a shame that youth is wasted on the young." Wouldn't we all love to have a 25 year old body along with the seasoned mind of a wise elder? That's what it will be like for all of us in heaven.

2 Cor 5:2  "We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing."

My parents came from the "greatest generation", the World War II generation. They were married for over 40 years before my Dad passed away. They never fell out of love. They weren't perfect; they had arguments, but they knew the secrets of a long term relationship.

1 Cor 13:7: "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

I learned more from the way my parents argued than from the way they made up. They always attacked the problem not each other.

Their other big secret : Laugh at yourself. When my Dad screwed something up, and my mom was annoyed he'd say "If I were you I wouldn't ask me to do that again." And they would both laugh.

When my Dad died my mom was lonely and lost. So who would ever imagine that she'd find a twilight romance right next door? One door over lived Ed, whose wife, Carol,had passed away also. It started with a shared ride to church and blossomed from there.

Now, married almost eight years, they are loving each other through health issues common in the elderly. Mom has trouble walking, so Ed can be her legs. Ed has mild dementia, so Mom reminds him to take his medicine. Every morning he says "Good morning Mrs. Britt, I love you." And she responds, "I love you, Mr. Britt." Like my Dad before him. Ed refers to Mom  as "his bride".

They both got it right in their first marriages, so they transferred that mutual mindset to this relationship. But the most important reason their marriage works is because there are really three of them: Ed, Inez, and The Lord.

1 John 4:12: “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

The courage, humor, and tenacity with which these two face the challenges of aging is truly inspirational. Getting across the house with her walker is a marathon for Mom. She grimaces in pain, but doesn't complain. I want to dig through my closet and award her one of my old 26.2 medals.

 Ed just chuckled the other day when I sat on the TV remote and no one could figure out how to get the picture back. I was ready to pitch it across the room in frustration, but how could I with such an example of patience sitting before me?

In this era, where couples don't commit to marriage anymore and everyone is either buried in their phones or in a hurry to scurry somewhere else, there is much to be learned from their example.

I think that the Lord has honored both them for their life-long commitment to Him by blessing them with each other in this winter of their lives. 

The drifts are piled high outside, but the fire burns warmly inside.