39 - THE GIRLS’ ROOM

THE GIRLS’ ROOM

9 x 14 inches

(The remains of the girls’ room after the fire)

Several days after news of the fire, Mom and I drove to her childhood farm. As we rounded the corner past the grove, we gasped when we saw what remained—it completely took our breath away. Mysteriously, the beautiful molding still framed a window in the northeast upstairs bedroom. That room was called the girls’ room for two generations.

While I was finishing this painting, memories of my cousins and I sharing stories in the girls’ room were stirred; we laughed, we giggled, and we told secrets never meant to leave the room. Listening intently to my older girl cousins’ stories molded much of my teenage years.

Through the burned-out roof, the fire revealed an inner sacred world, releasing the whispers and secrets contained within. Sunlight pours in, exposing the inside, brightening and healing any lingering shadows. Secrets held in the girls’ room are now free.