Karl and I went to the Richardson Hospice Resale Store in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. It is a very nice store, and I discovered the books area.
I bought A Cry Like a Bell, by Madeleine L’Engle (1987, Harold Shaw Publishers). This book is poetry. Years ago, I read and gave my copy away.
When I saw the book at the resale store, I thought maybe it was now being given back to me – that it would be good to read again.
“When the artist is truly the servant of the work, the work is better than the artist; Shakespeare knew how to listen to his work, and so he often wrote better than he could write; Bach composed more deeply, more truly than he knew; Rembrandt’s brush put more of the human spirit on canvas than Rembrandt could comprehend.”
Madeleine L’Engle
Walking On Water: Reflections On Faith & Art, Page 24 (Harold Shaw Publishers, Copyright 1980 by Crosswicks).
Rembrandt painting is courtesy of wpclipart.
Ellen Grace Olinger
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Out of Your Reach.”
I don’t recall being disappointed with gifts often as a child. However, I would be older before I would understand a broader definition of creativity and my gifts. Madeleine L’Engle’s now classic book, Walking On Water: Reflections on Faith & Art, was a great blessing (1980, Harold Shaw Publishers; Wheaton, Illinois). She taught me to “serve the work” the best I can and also to accept that the work will always be imperfect. Mercy and grace.
Ellen Grace Olinger
Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin 