My husband is a 6th grade school teacher and this year was his first year back teaching in 8 years. Before school started he was given an old classroom that had been used for in-school-suspension. It was a bit dungeon-like as you can imagine. Very little color and very little natural light. Walls made of cement blocks. Everything looked heavy, artificial, impersonal, and cold.
Well if you know me at all…you know I love making a space look beautiful and feel warm…and I love a challenge. And so I went to work making it a warm and colorful space for his students to learn. I wanted them to feel welcome and loved and I believe it doesn’t take much to accomplish this in any space. (I’m sorry…I wish I had a before and after photo.) I love Montessori style classrooms and so I used watercolors and made posters of quotes and multiplication facts. I made curtains for the windows and bought a few plants. We painted a chalkboard wall and bought colorful chalk. I painted a seascape painting and hung it on the cement wall. I found an old framed print at the thrift store and hung it as well. We bought a lamp for his desk as any light other than overhead fluorescent lighting is a win. These were all very small touches that brightened up his room and made it a cheerful and welcoming space.
A few months into the year he brought this note home (pictured above). It made me so happy and I sort of melted into a puddle on the floor…one, for the way the child expressed love for my husband as a teacher and two, how the room had made an impression on him.
Children need beauty.
We oftentimes give children the leftovers. The cheap stuff. The frozen food. The plastic. The twaddle-ish entertainment. The ugly, garish colors or no color at all. Children are treated as though their tastes and their senses and their perception of what is truly admirable and beautiful is non-existent or undeveloped. Or like it’s not a necessity. But it is.
Beauty makes children feel loved. Beauty makes children feel seen and cared for. Beauty makes the heart ache for something wilder and bigger than themselves.
Whether its a vase of flowers on the kitchen table, a painting on the wall, patterns on the sofa or quilt, or the natural light hitting the soft linen curtains in the evening…these small gestures and provisions of beauty are not to be underestimated. They may not thank you for all of it now - but it does matter and it is not only useful in making a house a home but these things also help shape and mold a child’s heart, mind, and character.
You never know what strengths or talents lie right under the surface and one spark of creativity or beauty can ignite something in a child to seek after something he or she didn’t even know was possible.
When I was a girl, my parents took us to Washington D.C. to visit family and do all the touristy things. The highlight of that trip was going to the National Gallery of Art. I walked through wanting to take it all in…I was completely mesmerized by what I saw around every turn. Gigantic paintings that were so beautiful and so intricate that it made my heart hurt. One artist, in particular, Martin Johnson Heade, left the deepest impression on me. I stood in front of his paintings with this overwhelming feeling that if only I had the paint and the canvas - I could paint something similar to his paintings. I ached to, at the very least, give it my best try. And so we came home from that trip and I have been painting and drawing ever since.
Truly at the heart of the issue…it is the garden…it is Eden… and it is the beauty that was lost long ago that we are after. Our heart aches for our true home and our King to bring us back to what was lost. This perfect environment filled with beauty and wonder is what we long for and what our meager attempts are really rooted in. Each attempt at enveloping our children with an environment which points them to Eden is a worthwhile attempt at that.
Don’t underestimate or undervalue your role in giving them beauty. It is a vital and crucial role as mother and homemaker.
“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable- if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise- dwell on these things.” Phippians 4:8
Love to you, friends.
Lauren
This is encouraging to me as we build our home again with meager supplies. It is an empty canvas with unlimited potential. I must remind myself that the Father provided this home and is already giving me tools to help make it a haven for my family. Your home is often in my heart as I search for special items. I was deeply inspired by the thoughtful creativity and beauty displayed in every corner and on every wall. ❤️