I've been trying to find this perfect combination of time to write and fascinating things to say and beautiful pictures and a coherent theme in order to throw them all together for a post that could wow everyone. This combination is not coming together as much as I'd like. Instead I'll just share a few things that are happening in my life.
1. Our first craft project in College 1 is pottery. However, instead of heading for the wheels or even for a nice new packet of clay, we trekked out to....the woods. And we dug clay. And now we are in the process of wetting the clay (squelching) and removing all the imperfections - wood, leaves, stones, etc. It is wonderful to simply feel the earth.
2. In art, we are doing wet on wet watercolor painting. Our first project was a yellow circle surrounded by blue and next was yellow on the top of the page and blue on the bottom - just barely meeting. It is very therapeutic and just having two colors to use is so clearing for one's mind. On Friday, I entered the art room after a very difficult incident with a student and I was very worked up. Being handed a paintbrush and asked to stand (we always stand rather than sit while painting) alongside the students - I found a great calm come over me. I could concentrate on the simplicity of two colors and the strokes of my own hand. The students need help with focus and staying still and listening - but I do too. The reasons why painting is good for them are not lost on me.
3. In religion class, we passed around different objects from the garden and started to ask about life. Just barely starting to ponder these things - no heavy theological truths - just students sitting around a table carefully examining the bounty of the world that God has created. Where does all this life come from? the students were asked. Watching them interact with each object and fully experience what was before them was incredible. It is so easy to forget how beautiful everything is.
4. On Saturday night, we had a birthday party for one of our students. The joy that accompanied "Dancing Queen" - the last song of the night was so invigorating and wonderful.
Life is vibrant here. We must never stop dancing and looking and painting. Every experience here is in brighter colors than I can describe. The therapies that are in place for the students in order to help them order their lives are having the same effect on me. I am proud of what I am doing. I am seeing the world fully. It is not easy work but each day I am aware of how far the human soul can stretch and how gracious God is to man.
yay
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