I received this delightful note from one of our women who is a teacher in a school in Salem. I was struck by the wisdom of a child. I’ve added a few comments of my own to his essay… not that it needed one bit more! I think this little guy pretty much says it all.
Hi Diane
I have so enjoyed reading your blog on marriage lately. I’ve also been listening to Mars Hill’s sermon series on marriage. And then yesterday, I came across one of my middle schooler’s art projects while grading. The assignment was to create a sculpture that represented a human relationship, emotion or attribute. He chose marriage. And he is in 6th grade. My heart was so glad, after reading his essay on his sculpture. I don’t work at a Christian school, so to hear this from a child was priceless! Just wanted to pass it along to someone who appreciates what God does through marriage as much as I do!
Art and Primary Spanish Teacher
Abiqua School
The reason behind this sculpture is happiness or marriage.
This is a feeling that first time marriage people will never forget. This feeling for most people is the best feeling they will ever feel in their lifetime.
In the painting you may see that if you picture their faces together as one,
they look half and half.
That is what married people should commit to.
I chose red as a color because red represents all of the arguments and problems and miscommunication that will be a part of marriage but the two people will stay strong and carry on.
I chose green as a relaxing color because you now work as a team and everything you do is now one.
I chose yellow as a color because it represents how much you want to do this and how enthusiastic and happy you are about your decisions.
Red, green, yellow.
Red because conflict is a reality when two people choose to become one. Because becoming one takes a whole lot of dying to self and forgiving and covering over all those irritants that threaten to undo us. And because for most of us it’s an embarrassingly messy process. And life intrudes and things go wrong and we have a million opportunities to choose- grace and mercy or disapproval and rejection?
Green because a great marriage creates a space that is so restful and refreshing that a whole family- and indeed an on looking world- can find peace and hope and rest there. And because green is a symbol of growth and newness and that’s what a God centered marriage between two people creates in this whole crazy process of becoming one.
Yellow for the sheer joy of participating in a miracle. Like my daffodils blooming in the midst of a dreary day, a marriage done right brings delight to everyone who gets to glimpse this outlandish idea of God’s.
And I think that’s enough said…
From my heart,
Diane