Heart Story


Sometimes faith feels like falling into an intricate and beautiful tapestry that I cannot fully see. I can see glimpses, only. 

The above use of the word 'only', reminds me of my maternal grandfather. He was a Dickens fan and he loved the following Scrooge quote from A Christmas Carol: "Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?" Grandpa was unimpressed by any rendering of A Christmas Carol that left out the word 'only'. He thought it was important for meaning and gravitas, I think. 

In part, I owe my Christian faith to Grandpa. To me, he was a personification of the famous definition of love used in weddings: "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth."

The other day, I was sitting in the front room of our house, looking around, while one of my nephews was working on his computer. My eyes fixed on an oil painting of a lake and mountains, created by Grandpa. I didn't feel inclined to try and sketch the picture with felt pens so I made the heart image shown above. I started colouring in with purple, blue and pink because I knew that Grandpa liked those colours (as do I and many of our family). I then added some green in memory of Grandpa's love of country scenery. After that, I put in some orange and yellow for brightness. The process felt peaceful and it did help me to reflect on qualities such as patience and non-irritability. (Yes, I nearly exploded metaphorically today, but I can always draw another heart). 

I didn't expect to write about faith and love, just the latter, but it's easy to see how the two are closely entwined. What memories and ideas are woven together in your mind?



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