A Merry Heart

Behind The Art

As we read on through Proverbs, the opposing imagery is just as prominent and all too familiar: “a heavy heart,” “a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

A merry heart? How is that possible? Of course, it is a gift, but perhaps it comes about by wanting it, by anticipating it. Just as we stay in contact – often across time and great distance – with family and friends, I think we from time to time expect “letters from home.” They contain messages of encouragement, humor, beauty. They are often subtle, but they do come, like the sunrise.

When I picked some early sweet peas last April and brought them into my studio, a friend commented, “I think they have this scent because God knew it would please us.”

—Michael