December 21, 2021

 In Memoriam

As I was putting our Advent book together, I came across this devotional written by Betsey Harwood, one whom we lost this year. I’m sharing it again this year as we continue to remember Betsey’s love of life, painting and the Valley.   ~ Anita

 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
   let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
   let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

Psalms 96: 11-12

Artists have observed the world and drawn or painted what they saw for thousands of years. They used ocres and charcoal in pre-historic times. Later, other materials of the earth were used to create colour in religious icons. Blue, made of ground lapis lazuli, considered one of the holiest of colors, was often used to paint the robes of the Virgin Mary in earlier Christian times.  We now know that the creation and observation of art brings about chemical changes to the brain; Often a feeling of joy. 

As I drive to the painting studio in Canning several days each week, I see the colours of the fields, the sky, trees and hills in the distance. These colours constantly change during the day into evening like a heavenly kaleidoscope. Many shades of green and gold in the summer and fall, the mauve hills and umber fields topped with a brushing of white in winter change to the acid greens and pink blossoms that greet us in the spring. What a joyful gift of colour God has given for all to see if we look up and notice.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the colours and beauty of the earth. Let us love and appreciate this planet and protect it from the harm we are doing with our careless ways. Amen

Betsey Harwood lived in the Annapolis Valley for more than thirty years. She was an innkeeper and a painter of the landscape she loved so much.