Reminders on a Wall

The weather is changing and the air is turning crisp and as it always does this time of year, my mind is wondering down a path that involves all the joys that winter brings. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking forward to the icy roads and the scraping windshields and the days when your body aches after one breath of the chilly air but lets be real, there is beauty in every season! I can't help but think of days spent sledding with all of my brothers and my sister, and now, as an adult, helping my children create those same memories. I think of hot chocolate and cuddling up with a warm blanket and a good book. I think of Christmas of course!!! And...I think of home. I think of the home that I grew up in with loving parents who taught me about love, about faith and about life. When I first started to think of a picture that encompasses these feelings I would have assumed that I would choose a family picture in a winter setting but instead, I couldn't help but think of a few paintings. For quite a few years my parents bought a painting every year at Christmas from an organization called Focus on the Family. In time we built up a collection of works by an artist named G. Harvey. His western paintings have amazing depictions of cowboy life and nature; but it is the turn-of-the-century American and European scenes that play with light and convey heartwarming messages that get me this time of year.

This painting is called "Unto the Least of These" and is my very favourite painting. 

I know when one of the other paintings comes down off of the wall and this one replaces it, that Christmas is officially on its way. I love the play of light in this piece but what gets me is the message. It is a message of giving and such a good reminder in a time of year that so often gets super busy and messages get lost. I don't necessarily think that this piece is the best painting that I've ever seen and it is not even a style of painting that I love. However, I love it! I love the home that it connects me with, the parents that I adore, the siblings that I love, the faith that defines me, the season that I love to celebrate and a message that I want to pass to my children. 

I would love to have this piece in my home. I picture a day that one of my children might curl up on a couch with a blanket made by someone they love. They can have a drink that makes them feel warm and safe and look at this painting and remember that they are blessed. Most of all I hope that they consider that not everyone is blessed in the same way and to remember others during the holiday season.