I once knew a little girl whose
mother was an artist. This mother wanted to help her 5-year-old daughter
develop some artistic talents. She learned of an art contest at the
school and decided to have her daughter enter the contest. Each entrant
was asked to create a piece of art/music/poetry finishing this phrase,
"Love is..."
The mother sat down with this little girl and said, "I am going to say something and I want you to finish the sentence for me....'Love is...'" The little girl didn't even think for a full minute. She replied, "Everyone!"
So the mother and the little girl sat and decided what kind of picture to create. They decided to make a picture of different people from around the world. The mother practiced what to draw with the little girl a few different times. She gave her some artistic tips and encouraged her to use certain colors and styles, and taught her how to fill in all of the spaces with her crayons, but the art was done completely by the 5-year-old.
That little girl started to think even more about her picture and she felt the truth of those words deep in her little heart...and she still does 37 years later. She is no longer that little girl. She has two children of her own, a busy life and lots to think about, but she still believes. She still chooses to believe that "Love Is Everyone". Despite the fact that since those days, she has had some experiences which challenge the simple truth she drew about so long ago. She knows that in the eternal scheme of things, in the eyes of our Savior, love truly is everyone.
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She is so grateful for a mother who took the time to help her develop a talent (although she doesn't draw much better now than she did back then - maybe the talent being developed was a different kind of art ). There was a lot of sadness in their home, but there were bright, beautiful experiences too - this was one of them.
BTW...the little girl won the contest and went on to receive other awards as the picture was passed on to different levels of competition. The little girl was excited to win but all she really understood was that several times she was asked to stand up in front of large groups of people, hold up her picture and say, "Love Is Everyone'".
(BTW#2...now that little girl, who is all grown up, has a blog devoted completely to Jesus Christ, the one who has filled her heart and taught her to continue to love because He always loves. The blog is called "Much More Him" and maybe it is her adult way of standing in front of groups of people and saying "Love Is Everyone", because she has learned, on even deeper levels than before, that to our Savior Jesus Christ, that saying is very, very true!
The mother sat down with this little girl and said, "I am going to say something and I want you to finish the sentence for me....'Love is...'" The little girl didn't even think for a full minute. She replied, "Everyone!"
So the mother and the little girl sat and decided what kind of picture to create. They decided to make a picture of different people from around the world. The mother practiced what to draw with the little girl a few different times. She gave her some artistic tips and encouraged her to use certain colors and styles, and taught her how to fill in all of the spaces with her crayons, but the art was done completely by the 5-year-old.
That little girl started to think even more about her picture and she felt the truth of those words deep in her little heart...and she still does 37 years later. She is no longer that little girl. She has two children of her own, a busy life and lots to think about, but she still believes. She still chooses to believe that "Love Is Everyone". Despite the fact that since those days, she has had some experiences which challenge the simple truth she drew about so long ago. She knows that in the eternal scheme of things, in the eyes of our Savior, love truly is everyone.
She is so grateful for a mother who took the time to help her develop a talent (although she doesn't draw much better now than she did back then - maybe the talent being developed was a different kind of art ). There was a lot of sadness in their home, but there were bright, beautiful experiences too - this was one of them.
BTW...the little girl won the contest and went on to receive other awards as the picture was passed on to different levels of competition. The little girl was excited to win but all she really understood was that several times she was asked to stand up in front of large groups of people, hold up her picture and say, "Love Is Everyone'".
(BTW#2...now that little girl, who is all grown up, has a blog devoted completely to Jesus Christ, the one who has filled her heart and taught her to continue to love because He always loves. The blog is called "Much More Him" and maybe it is her adult way of standing in front of groups of people and saying "Love Is Everyone", because she has learned, on even deeper levels than before, that to our Savior Jesus Christ, that saying is very, very true!
This one was obviously not done by me (the little red headed girl, if you did pick up on that.) This one is by Greg Olsen - a true artistic talent.
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