one of my fav in the precious moments chapel
took a trip with some friends to carthage, missouri to check out the precious moments chapel. created out in the middle of no where, just trees and a creek. a whole 17.5 acres of land, by the creator of precious moments, artist Sam Butcher.
stepping into the chapel, took my breath away. it was like seeing the bible come to live with all the murals that mr. butcher had painted. i never even realized that it was all biblical. and it was so beautiful. there was a tour that we took, and learned of the many stories behind each and every character that were painted into the murals. it's almost impossible of me to pick out one that i liked the most because everywhere i turned it was like "wow". even the ceiling was so pretty. i was like a little kid spinning in circles. all the detail and meaning that went into the art, it was incredible. and i wish someday i could do something like that myself. to create some form of art that is centered around God and His values.
then came the coin press machine. MY NEW FAVORITE TOY! haha. basically u insert a penny and 2 quarters, and its flattens the penny as well as imprint something of the place onto it. so basically for 51 cents, you get a little souvenir. i got SUPER excited. i did it 3 times. n i got my friends into it too so they all got 1 each. i was so happy after that. and of cos being asian, we had to find the "shiny penny" so it would turn out good. everyone was like staring at us like we're crazy.
the entire time we were at the chapel, i literally felt like a little kid again running around all over. looking at everything. and every single painting looked so pretty and so cool. it's one of those "oh i like this" and 2 secs later " no i like this better" and 2 secs later " no i like this one best". basically i liked everything. but the picture above, is the main mural in the chapel, and it actually depicts what heaven would be like, with Jesus being in the middle of it all. and the diff characters in the mural, many represent loved ones who have been lost and have been painted in for memory.
so while i was freaking out and laughing at myself the entire time for being such a kid, all of a sudden is like God smacks me in the head. then it dawned on me. i am a kid. i'm God's kid. and i always will be. and then God starts speaking to me. the artist Sam Butcher, on a sign in the chapel, had said one of his best memories of the chapel is watching little kids look up and pointing at the angels on the mural on the ceiling. and God just said "that's what i like best about you. your child-likeness. you are my child, and i am your Father."
i was fighting back tears, just knowing that God liked that about me. it has been a huge struggle, growing up and feeling like my childhood was taken away from me, and the longing to be a child again, to experience what a "normal" childhood would be like. at the same time, i'm suppose to be growing up and mature and all. so to know that its ok to be a kid, made me happy.
being a kid, and having a child-like insight into things, is not always bad. children have that innocence factor, and that makes everything a lot simpler, than arguing with our own minds about what we think is right and what is right by God.
knowing that i'm a child of God and that nothing can ever change that, is awesome!
