If you’ve been following my blog, then you know I’m in the midst of talking about a painting I’m creating as a donation to the 2010 Together For Adoption Conference, and their efforts to raise money for the orphans of Haiti.
Day 8 into my painting called “HAITI: We have Not Forgotten” was the low point of this project for me. I’m looking at the most complicated subject matter I’ve tackled to date, and there seems to be no end in sight.
But it’s just a painting.
I’m also not even sure I can physically do this photo justice. I don’t paint people. I paint fields, and flowers, and the things I find to be beautiful. This painting is full of way too many people and a lot of sad-looking stuff.
But it’s REALLY NOT just a painting.
The real mess is not in creating my painting, but rather what the photo is actually showing. People living in tents because their houses are GONE. People living with strangers because that’s what you do when the biggest modern-day natural disaster lands on your block.
You make the best of things and try to move on. You set up your colorful tents, dress for work, and try to live another day.
There’s beauty in the rubble.
As I started to work on painting the people in the photo, I began to notice how smartly most of them are dressed. It’s taken me 8 days to notice this. I’ve been so caught up painting in one-inch increments, that I’ve lost sight of the whole picture. Literally.
These beautiful dark-skinned people, in their cheerful outfits seem to be back to the business of living.
How are they doing that?
The only human explanation I can think of is a non-human explanation. God’s peace must be sustaining them.
My son and I spent many months before his bedtime praying for the people of Haiti to “be OK.” But then we kind of forgot about them. Even though I’ve been planning this painting for months, the people in Haiti had slipped my mind.
There are parents in this painting.
My favorite part of the painting is the area surrounding the biggest umbrella. You can see the heads of what appears to be a boy and his parents. His mom has on a pretty blue dress, has her hand resting on his shoulder, and is wearing pearls. She looks so put together. How can this be? I hope there are still lots of “put together” families left in Port-au-Prince, but the statistics don’t sound promising.
Please keep praying for Haiti.
There are so many orphans there now who need some beauty restored to their lives. Please remember them in your prayers. I’ll do my best to remember them too.
For more details on how you can give, or how you can attend the 2010 Together for Adoption Conference, please see the links below.
2010 Together For Adoption National Conference
It’s only $30,000 to build an orphanage. That would be a beautiful thing for the 30 orphans who could live there thanks to the combined generosity of those who follow this blog.
