I was just thinking about this today while driving my child to art camp. There’s a place along a back road that’s been a hidden green glen for as long as we’ve been living here, and it’s been mysterious. It’s far from any house, has woods on three sides, and it serves no useful purpose. But I’ve loved it because it was beautiful, a little cave of shaded green with thick, shorn grass.
This morning with a dismayed start I noticed that its almost gone- fallen branches half hidden in high grass, all dissolving into general chaos.
Then I remembered the house high on the hill above had sold a little while ago. No one loved that little grove any more. They didn’t know it’s story. The labor required to get down in there and maintain it was not being given, and the beauty was being rapidly lost. It will disappear completely soon and few will even know it was there.
I’m out pulling weeds in my landscape every time I’m outside, but I can’t stay long in any one place yet, because I have to keep an eye on a very mobile two year old. But I will keep on with the labor as long as I can, as well as I can.
I’m too old to figure out how to get a picture into the comments. :) But it’s like a little ragged meadow now, full of drying tree limbs and open to the sunlight. One of the massive trees that sheltered it got blasted this year during tornado season, and I think that’s partly why the whole thing is disappearing. We truly are weeding in the wilderness. But that’s ok- if we see beauty, it reminds us of Home. If we see it going away, we can look to what is unseen and go on tending what we can.
By the way, your article on the ideas of Christ vs. the Incarnate Christ was brilliant. I enjoy both your writing and your art in general, but that article was something else.
Today is exactly the day I needed to read this. Your beautiful writing is such an encouragement, particularly when the chores pile up and the work seems interminable. Thank you for sharing.
Reading this post as I think about all of the yard work at my own home that needs doing. Life has been busy and the hidden parts of my yard that maybe only one neighbor can see, are getting out of control. I've got unmowed grass out front, weeds that need whacking, and invasive plants that have to go.
I've been dreading the work, but I know it will all be worth it when I get to set up a sandbox for my kids, and make my yard a welcoming place for friends and family. Heck, it'll be worth it just to see the job be done.
I'm someone who dislikes having to do routine maintenance. I wrote a similar reflection on that a while back that I haven't published yet. Regardless of my dislike it still matters because, like you said, that beauty needs to be cultivated.
Good things to remember as I head into summer with a full plate.
I love this so much. I’m a first time mom with a one year old daughter. Since she has started solids, I have cleaned my kitchen floor and wiped down her high chair 1000000000 times. This is a beautiful and dignifying way to look at my labor. I want to keep that at the forefront. Thank you.
(Also my husband and I are very much looking forward to the next part of the Excarnated Christ series. That post has been food for many of our discussions on walks together this summer!)
I was just thinking about this today while driving my child to art camp. There’s a place along a back road that’s been a hidden green glen for as long as we’ve been living here, and it’s been mysterious. It’s far from any house, has woods on three sides, and it serves no useful purpose. But I’ve loved it because it was beautiful, a little cave of shaded green with thick, shorn grass.
This morning with a dismayed start I noticed that its almost gone- fallen branches half hidden in high grass, all dissolving into general chaos.
Then I remembered the house high on the hill above had sold a little while ago. No one loved that little grove any more. They didn’t know it’s story. The labor required to get down in there and maintain it was not being given, and the beauty was being rapidly lost. It will disappear completely soon and few will even know it was there.
I’m out pulling weeds in my landscape every time I’m outside, but I can’t stay long in any one place yet, because I have to keep an eye on a very mobile two year old. But I will keep on with the labor as long as I can, as well as I can.
God bless you
keeping on with the labour in love, man i love this.
send a pic of the green glen, pls.
I’m too old to figure out how to get a picture into the comments. :) But it’s like a little ragged meadow now, full of drying tree limbs and open to the sunlight. One of the massive trees that sheltered it got blasted this year during tornado season, and I think that’s partly why the whole thing is disappearing. We truly are weeding in the wilderness. But that’s ok- if we see beauty, it reminds us of Home. If we see it going away, we can look to what is unseen and go on tending what we can.
By the way, your article on the ideas of Christ vs. the Incarnate Christ was brilliant. I enjoy both your writing and your art in general, but that article was something else.
Today is exactly the day I needed to read this. Your beautiful writing is such an encouragement, particularly when the chores pile up and the work seems interminable. Thank you for sharing.
I’m going to have to read this 5 more times to fully absorb the goodness of it. Needed words for a fast paced season- thanks for sharing them!
Reading this post as I think about all of the yard work at my own home that needs doing. Life has been busy and the hidden parts of my yard that maybe only one neighbor can see, are getting out of control. I've got unmowed grass out front, weeds that need whacking, and invasive plants that have to go.
I've been dreading the work, but I know it will all be worth it when I get to set up a sandbox for my kids, and make my yard a welcoming place for friends and family. Heck, it'll be worth it just to see the job be done.
I'm someone who dislikes having to do routine maintenance. I wrote a similar reflection on that a while back that I haven't published yet. Regardless of my dislike it still matters because, like you said, that beauty needs to be cultivated.
Good things to remember as I head into summer with a full plate.
i really needed this. what a good perspective to have. even as a mother of 3 drowned in the mundane, i can create beauty. much love from munich!
I love this so much. I’m a first time mom with a one year old daughter. Since she has started solids, I have cleaned my kitchen floor and wiped down her high chair 1000000000 times. This is a beautiful and dignifying way to look at my labor. I want to keep that at the forefront. Thank you.
(Also my husband and I are very much looking forward to the next part of the Excarnated Christ series. That post has been food for many of our discussions on walks together this summer!)
The conclusion "or else" 😂
This was great... looking to practise some cultivation of beauty in my small space