As we lift up one of our friends and her family in prayer today,
Ellen and I are reminded of one of the most poignant moments we as an art family experienced.
Our 2010 Art Is…You was drawing to a close. We had enjoyed a fabulous night with lots of merriment, connected again at breakfast, laughed together, gathered our things and were ready for another spectacularly creative day .
As Ellen and I sat in our office, which really is a glorified lounge room because everyone loves to come and check in to say hi - word was delivered to us that one of our attendees husbands was in trouble.
With heart in my hand I ran. With those hands, with those arms I engulfed our friend, trying with all my very being, to carry her anguish, her pain, and her fear while we watched her beloved take his first steps toward heaven.
It was so sudden and so final to know that the man, who reveled the day before in his wife’s excitement over the wonders of wax paper, could quite possibly be gone from our world.
I held tight. I didn’t want to let her go.
Somehow hoping and praying that I could possibly protect her
but reality crept into our bones.
I watched them depart with sirens wailing.
All that I had, I had given to our friend, my body and soul shaken with the loss but within moments, I felt arms around me, engulfing me and filling my soul with the love that I had just given out.
Together in our collective grief we held on to each other.
As the day progressed, our thoughts continued to be with our friend but in sadness we turned to art, tears turned to laughter, and we turned to our family knowing without a doubt that we are each other’s parachute.
What is unique and special is that we can reach for that parachute at anytime and know that it is there for the giving.
Art is…the connection we all have to each other.
Today we are the Princess and the Fiancé's parachute. Join us.
You have created a type of love that only ancient philosophers have written about. You know agape love!!
