This
altar has "trees" of purple amethyst and a bird of
paradise. The shells and sea glass at the base represent the
ocean, and the stairway in the middle leads upward. This piece
is inspired by the following story by Edward
Hays.
Once
upon a time there was a woman who longed to find out what heaven
is like. She prayed constantly, "O God, grant me in this
life a vision of paradise." She prayed this way for years
until one night she had a dream. In her dream, an angel came
and led her to heaven. They walked down a street in paradise
until they came to an ordinary looking house. The angel, pointing
toward the house said, "Go and look inside."
So
the woman walked in the house and found a person preparing supper, another
reading the newspaper, and children playing with their toys. Naturally,
she was disappointed and returned to the angel on the street." Is this all there is to heaven?"
The
angel replied, "Those people you saw in that house are not
in paradise, paradise is in them!" |
