Trained Faith
I have discovered another treasure of a book (imagine that!). Several years ago I was given the biography of Lilias Trotter (missionary to Algeria in the latter part of the 19th century) by Miriam Rockness. Before Lilias became a missionary she was a student of artist John Ruskin. She was very gifted, to put it mildly, and had the world before her with Ruskin as her chief supporter. He said he believed "she would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be Immortal." He was prepared to "launch her career single-handedly." The catch was that she would have to give herself up to art. "After days of agonizing deliberation, she saw she could not devote herself to both art and ministry. She wrote, 'I see clear as daylight now, I cannot give myself to painting in the way [Ruskin] means and continue to 'seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.'"
As she went to Algeria, she did continue to use this gift by filling her journals, diaries, and letters with beauty in color and expression. She wrote devotional books and leaflets in English, and Arabic story parables and booklets also illustrated with her artwork.
"It is from these many sources that the writings and watercolors of A Blossom in the Desert (the book of my latest discovery) have been culled--some paired as she intended, others matched for resonance of word with image--and organized under the great unifying themes of her life: Light and Life and Love."
A Blossom in the Desert (edited by Miriam Rockness) is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. The subtitle is: Reflections of Faith in the Art and Writings of Lilias Trotter. And that is what it truly is.
Here is a sample from one page:
"As an eagle...fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings--so the Lord alone did lead him.
"Fluttereth over--the early stages of faith are reaching upward, like the eaglets for their food when the mother-bird is overhead. It is an older faith that learns to swing out into nothingness and drop down full weight on God--the broken-up nest of former 'experiences' left behind--nothing between us and the abyss but God Himself. Trained faith is a triumphant gladness in having nothing but God--not rest, no foothold--nothing but Himself. A triumphant gladness in swinging out into that abyss, rejoicing in every fresh emergency that is going to prove Him true. 'The Lord alone'--that is trained faith."
I would highly recommend this book.
As she went to Algeria, she did continue to use this gift by filling her journals, diaries, and letters with beauty in color and expression. She wrote devotional books and leaflets in English, and Arabic story parables and booklets also illustrated with her artwork.
"It is from these many sources that the writings and watercolors of A Blossom in the Desert (the book of my latest discovery) have been culled--some paired as she intended, others matched for resonance of word with image--and organized under the great unifying themes of her life: Light and Life and Love."
A Blossom in the Desert (edited by Miriam Rockness) is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. The subtitle is: Reflections of Faith in the Art and Writings of Lilias Trotter. And that is what it truly is.
Here is a sample from one page:
"As an eagle...fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings--so the Lord alone did lead him.
"Fluttereth over--the early stages of faith are reaching upward, like the eaglets for their food when the mother-bird is overhead. It is an older faith that learns to swing out into nothingness and drop down full weight on God--the broken-up nest of former 'experiences' left behind--nothing between us and the abyss but God Himself. Trained faith is a triumphant gladness in having nothing but God--not rest, no foothold--nothing but Himself. A triumphant gladness in swinging out into that abyss, rejoicing in every fresh emergency that is going to prove Him true. 'The Lord alone'--that is trained faith."
I would highly recommend this book.
posted by Violet | 10:54 AM
2 Comments:
Violet, that sounds like a book I would treasure, too. Thank you for sharing it with us. I think I will go order it right now.
Patricia, you will love this book! Your photographs of God's beautiful creation tell me that you, as Lilias, "looked with heartsight as well as eyesight".
"And she read God's work, seeing lessons in their design and processes, that revealed to her the Creator, nourishing her beauty-loving spirit as well as her God-loving soul. Her diaries are filled with paintings of lessons learned from the natural world, and her language is laced with such expressions as 'The daisies have been talking again,'" etc. Enjoy!
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