Michaelangelo and A Little Girl

Inspired by the image and sound bite of the Gatineau man hanging tightly to the hand of his daughter who was being swept up in last Friday's tornado - refusing to let go of her, I was reminded of Michelangelo's famous painting, The Creation of Adam.  It depicts the finger of God reaching to give life to Adam - Not quite touching - imparting the spark of life.  So many messages can and have been interpreted in this  powerful image;  I chose to see in it the creation of God's great love for man - His never letting go of us.   We have a Father who is constantly reaching out for us, and when we happen to lose our grip at times, He reaches even further and bridges the gap when we call out to Him.

We build our bridges,

Strong and wide

To take us to

The other side

Of the space between

The here and there,

An abyss unknown

And fraught with care;

Don't look down!  I cried;

Please don't let go,

I am so small,

So afraid that

I will fall;

I need some help

To cross this path

My faltering pace,

Guide with your grace,

The strongest bridge of all;

I'm reaching for

Your hand, Father,

As you reach out

For mine;

You calm the waters,

Cruel and wild,

You bridge the gap

And guide your child,

Across a bridge divine.

Be Not Afraid - You Are A Masterpiecer!

 

What is a masterpiece?  It takes a healthy mix of humility and courage to walk towards your life's fulfillment; to go where you have yet to go, to create your own unique, imperfect masterpieces.

Perhaps we need to pay more attention to the example that the lowly weed sets:  Weeds are actually unique, and when closely looked at, very intricate masterpieces.  There is no way that any of us can create that same piece of outstanding artistry.   The problem is that they dare to pop up in spaces that do not welcome or encourage them.

  If they had a society for abused weeds -  ‘unwanted’ plants - what would their complaints be?  “Help – We’re being stepped on, our feet chopped off, pulled by the hair, and spoken to quite rudely!  We thought our contribution would be appreciated but, clearly, grass is the only genus welcome."  In our finite human wisdom, we condescendingly insist on helping Mother Nature to correct her obvious errors.

The weeds know better - They are trying to tell us that our soil is actually ideal for them, that poor ‘monsieur grass’ is the one struggling to grow in the wrong spot.   Perhaps I'll stop stressing about not having perfect green carpeting everywhere out there; The patch of wild strawberries that showed up last summer in our back yard, together with bits of moss, are confirming the fact that the soil in that area is acidic – not the best soil for growing a lush lawn, but perfect for wild strawberries, and sorrel (tart but yummy on a cheese sandwich!), in other words, an edible lawn! That is just fine with me; I’m in no hurry to correct that mistake. 

In this larger garden that makes up my life, I'll try to nourish my soil with plenty of that healthy humility-courage mix, and I'll keep the phone number for the Master Gardener handy for those times when my garden becomes muddled, when  my confidence becomes choked out by fear.  I'll try to picture successes as I’m making my inevitable mistakes, and I hope that some day I will look back and, lo and behold, there will be a long lineup of sparkling efforts - an imperfect but beautiful path that others may follow,  learn from, and  improve on. 

I’ll just make sure I sprinkle lots of smile seeds as I go, that I speak kindly to the plants, and that I  try not to correct all of my mistakes too quickly - I may be overlooking some real masterpieces! 

 Oh look - There's another dandelion, and another, and another, and an......  Peace!