the art of remembering

"If my art is an ongoing conversation I have with my life where I dream of all that might be possible, the added bonus is that I get to encourage my children in their dreams, too. I also see beauty in less likely places than I used to, like the tiny white T-shirt I just bleached that reappears smeared with grass stains. I study my children and never cease to be amazed by the complexity and uniqueness of their delicate faces. They are small, priceless masterpieces." - Kierstin Castella

I am putting this down in a form of writing while it is in my brain and heart. It is not a time when I have lots of time. It is not a thought that has been fully processed. But it is real. I have been pondering how the last 18 years of my life have been JAM FULL of the living art of children and remembering children and teaching children to remember.

I have studied the faces of 3 sons and see the complexity of the Creator's unique mark on each of them. I have studied the faces of countless middle school and high school students in 3 different states and several other countries. I am back around now to being a "teacher" in some "official" sense of the word and I am studying new little faces of a variety of ages. What I see are masterpieces that bear the signature of a Triune God.

Every day I am tempted to not notice because it seems easier. I am tempted to forget because it is more efficient. I wrestle with shutting down because it is all messy.

But today I am thankful. I am thankful that every day I have been in the process of some form of art with children for the last 6,570 days of my life. I wonder how many days of this type of art God will give me? No matter....I am a very wealthy woman.