Four Paintings by Julia LoVan
“Don’t give your opinion. No one wants to hear more opinions.” A friend said this to me when I felt like I needed to publicly add to the conversation about current events, in my grand attempt to change the world. I instead turned my attention to a hobby that has since brought others joy and in the process, myself as well: painting (in my fancy studio in the corner of our pantry.) I love what the best-selling author, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux “the Little Flower” says about accepting one’s simple role in life: “Our Lord has deigned to explain this mystery to me. He showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues.
And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden. He has been pleased to create great Saints who may be compared to the lily and the rose, but He has also created lesser ones, who must be content to be daisies or simple violets flowering at His Feet, and whose mission it is to gladden His Divine Eyes when He deigns to look down on them. And the more gladly they do His Will the greater is their perfection.”
Painting the pollinator flowers from my garden is my little way of spreading joy.
