The
Guardian
“Not
everyone out in a storm wants to be saved.”
Paula
McLain (The Paris Wife)
This is my version of a
Seraph—the Guardian at the gates of Eden, and a character in one of
Madeleine L'Engle's Wind in the Door books. According to the
Old Testament, the Seraph is a celestial being, an angel, with six
wings and many eyes, whose job is to hover near the throne of God
and sing praises such as, “Holy, holy, holy.”
The Seraph in my art has
more than six wings and one fierce eye—his job is protection. I
made this particular piece after my mother died, while I was living
in her house trying to get it ready to sell. It was a time when I was
processing all that my mother had meant to me, while cleaning out the
contents of her home and sorting through all the odds and ends of
things she'd saved. As anyone who has traveled this life-passage
knows, it is not an easy one. I didn't intentionally create a
guardian for myself, but unconsciously, I did.
This story is a good
example of “not everyone out in a storm wants to be saved.” We
all must walk through dark passages in our lives. We can avoid our
feelings about them, or we can walk through them knowing that it will
be exquisitely uncomfortable. When we avoid our feelings, or mask
them with substances and risky behavior, we can rest assured that the
discomfort does not evaporate—it simply bides its time. Sooner or
later, in an unguarded moment—usually at the worst possible
moment—whatever we are avoiding will spring out, full blown, with
many wings and fierce eyes, and scream in our faces, “Holy! Holy!
Holy! This is real! You have to deal!” And, so we do.
Sometimes, the very best
choice is to simply walk into the storm, get soaked by the rain, and
buffeted by the wind, until you feel free. Just be sure to take a
Seraph with you.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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