June
12
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“Dance with My King”
©Maria Magdalena Oosthuizen
I recently discovered a wonderful South African artist named Maria Magdalena Oosthuizen. One website explains her style and motivation: “She paints figurative portraits emanating innocence and hope that pay tribute both to her devotion to God and her belief in the intrinsic goodness of the people of this world.” Maria has no formal training but grew up around creativity as her mother was an artist. She is inspired by God for he is the creator of all beautiful things, explaining, “He called me for His purpose and in obedience and love of art, I paint with all I am to worship Him. Therefore I pray that each painting will touch you like it touched me whilst painting it.”
In this particular piece, I love the looseness and balance of this dancer being held by her King. Life can be like a dance—sometimes beautiful and graceful, sometimes tripped up feet and lost balance. But when I see myself as the one held in the arms of the King, I feel safe and secure.
My sister, who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, is a talented playwright and poet. She has a poem on her site (FaithAndDrama.com) called, “This Dance.” I would like to share it with you, and I pray you find it as meaningful as I did.
This Dance
You said
I could dance
be a dancer
in this dimension, for this time
to this Music
The music is a mystery
a mystery that I love
but can’t complete
in sync
I don’t always land right
often get it wrong
missteps
and failed twirls
I fly wide-open
toward another dancer
and find myself asking
why didn’t you catch me
they say, why did you fall on me?
when I want to cry
You turn up the music and say
don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged
I love your awkward dance
it’s perfect
Featured Art: ©Maria Magdalena Oosthuizen, “Dance with My King.” https://www.houseofmaria.co.za/