Petals in the Pool

I love 1 Corinthians 13:12: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (So much of the Bible is pure poetry.) In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul explains that, in this life, we see things as though through a muddied piece of glass. Images are distorted, colors muted, and the brilliance of our surroundings dulled by the transgressions of a fallen world. In heaven, however, those who accept Christ and His gift of salvation will truly see - and be seen by Him; truly know - and be known by Him.   Some Bible versions use the word "mirror" instead of "glass," and so I was reminded of the verse several days ago when my 14 year-old daughter hopped into the car. She immediately flipped up the passenger seat's visor to look into the mirror. "Mom!" she exclaimed, "My complexion didn't look like this in the bathroom mirror! It looked a lot be...

I can still remember my first - and only - Michael Stipe sighting. The R.E.M. front man was walking downtown in Athens, alone and looking a tad worse for the wear. It was at night - probably late - and it took a few seconds for the recognition to register. Once it did, I was both let down (by his ability to walk down the street with a skill nearing on invisibility) and relief that I had finally accomplished a long-venerated rite of Classic City passage.   I had gone through my R.E.M. phase several years before. I can still remember laying in bed with my headphones on, listening to the "Out of Time" album over and over. So much young teenage angst! "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" has popped into my head a time or two during this pandemic, which is funny because its dire title is diminished by its poppy beat, and it appeared on an album I never owned. Plus, it's akin to a question my youngest daughter, Debbin, asked quite a bit as C...

At the beginning of all this, maybe a week or so before Georgia's statewide shelter-in-place order took effect, my husband suggested we head over to his art studio and get creative. A graffiti artist and muralist by trade, he thought it would be fun (maybe meaningful is a better word) to commemorate our experience living in a world impacted by COVID-19 with a mural that would encourage others and give our family an excuse to do something together. It was truly a collaborative effort. Rich used Dorothy's characters to create our "family," then added his own design to create the finished piece. He created several different iterations by switching out the "Positive" for "At Home," and then "Faithful." It was a fun experience and a great excuse for us to get out of the house and stretching our creative muscles. Little did we know then that our piece may last far beyond the pandemic, thanks to the UGA Libraries' Coronavirus Collection, an...