A couple of weeks ago, after hearing of the heartbreak of a friend in my neighborhood over his wayward son, I chose to paint an octopus as I reflected upon a promising quote that I had heard years ago about the influence of striving parents over their children. I sent this little doodle to him with encouragement to continue to look for that "perfect brightness of hope" that can come to each of us through heaven.
Here's the quote that I referenced in his letter, and that tied into the little doodle that I sent off to him:
“The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught a more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God” (Orson F. Whitney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1929, 110).
Yesterday I made it home after a weekend of camping up on the Mongollon Rim in Arizona and was enamored by the night sky, when there was no other light but that of the stars. The forest was quiet except for intermittent cricket songs and the breeze playing across the needles of the pines that towered above. It was marvelous to just stand under the handiwork of God and gaze into the heavens, such solace! When I got home yesterday, I painted this night sky, trying to recall the feelings of being under the starry sky.
