WHY EVERYONE NEEDS A WALL

Part of a living room wall featuring the art of small children. (06JUL2022)

One of the great joys Erin and I have found in the last couple of months has been the setting aside of a portion of our living room for the children to have an ‘art area’ where they are able to use whatever medium they so choose to express themselves. As part of encouraging them to develop their love for art, we have hung various items they’ve produced here or in school. As I looked at that wall this evening, something else hit me that I cannot help but wonder might be transformative.

My hope and prayer for the children is that as they look at that wall they will not only see their hard work but also that their mother and I are proud enough of them to display their work in a prominent place where one cannot visit our home very long without seeing their gallery. While, yes, we are thankful to our friend Cindy and the wonderful folks our kids learned from during their preschool years at the Montessori School of West Monroe which produced the majority of what is on the wall, what I find most important about this display is that it shows them every day of what they are capable.

I would love to believe they will be able to go through life with the surest confidence in themselves and their abilities; the human experience tells me that will not be the case, no matter how much I wish it were so. In the inevitable days to come where they will be down on themselves for whatever reason, my prayer is they will be able to look at this wall and know somewhere that all is not lost - they have been, are, and will be capable of producing beauty that will bless others. I pray this not to minimize whatever might be their crisis de jour, but as a way of hope and a reminder that someone believe in and recognizes their gifts, graces, and abilities.

Grace and Peace, Lamar

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