All of 2020, I took you on a museum tour of some of my favorite art pieces, whether they were sculpture, wall hangings, or paintings. Within those pieces of art, I shared how they’ve impressed teaching moments in my life (there’s an art pun for you).
Well, today, I’m going to share a piece of art with you that is rare. So rare, the artist only features her pieces in select galleries and venues.
You may be putting two and two together, but if you aren’t—- feast your eyes on the handiwork of five year old, Elizabeth Kathryn Dorsey Dean. This piece was created in a small studio in Elk City, Oklahoma. Her medium is marker, pencil, and crayon and she chose primary and secondary colors to be the theme of her piece.
Being the art nerd that I am, I asked her what the piece meant. I wanted an insider view of the artists intent, come on guys, I was beyond excited. Not to just guess or insinuate, BUT TO KNOW. She carefully walked me through every dot, dash, line, and letter. It was carefully crafted with thought.
The yellow house with the red door is where I live. It has BIG windows to see the sunshine, can you see it reflected in the windows? The yellow house is sitting on a turtle. The turtle was flipped upside down because “slow and steady wins the race, MAMA.” The door looks like a person because she claims we love people and the heart and the gift box are up in the attic because our home is filled with these. The three houses next to the yellow house represent our three girls and where they will live one day. Her words were, no matter what, we will always be “NEAR.” These words brought tears to my eyes and you’ll see why in a moment. Might want to grab some tissues.
In mid December of last year, I was walking through a beautiful blanket of snow just stopping to take in the beauty. In a year that was so ugly, this beautiful blanket of snow reminded me of a verse that I’ve seen probably dozens of times over my lifetime but over the last few months, I’ve probably seen it three times that many. It just kept(keeps) popping up, giving me a blanket of peace like the blanket of snow that was covering the Earth that day.
“But for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge so I can tell about all you do.” Psalm 73:28 (CSB)
Little did I know then, but the word I was given would come more to life and show up in a way that covered me day after day in His presence, fully feeling and understanding REFUGE. My body has been battling quite a bit and it’s no secret to most who know me past the squares and the scrolls but not something I like to share in this space here for now. Not because it’s too private but because the second part of that verse I’m still walking through… I want to tell all about HE does. He’s just not finished.
After receiving this beautiful work of art, the timing of it made me stand still. My caring, loving, and adoring five year old said, “I know this has been a hard week, and I’m sorry.” The most incredible thing to me was that we don’t keep secrets from our girls but she honestly didn’t know why it had been hard because we still weren’t sure. But because she knows my facial expressions, my mannerisms, my voice. She knew it was hard.
And while I don’t want her to carry the burden of anything hard, it reminded me so deeply of the love of the Father and how SEEN He makes us feel. He shows up with the I’m sorry masterpieces when it seems we’ve been overlooked. He carries it with us, He crafts every line dot and dash to make His presence known. To remind us of His love. To remind us that HE IS NEAR, He knows our name (pivot to the Masterpiece) and that He’s been with us this whole time, seeing us while covering us.
So friends, who are we drawing notes to that allow them to feel seen the love of the Father?
Drop a post it, a text, a card (in the mail). You never know how those dots, dashes, and letters make another person feel.