I am not one of those people.
So I thought I'd take advantage of the pristine conditions induced by drizzly, rainy, tea drinking weather and draw while my tall guy slept. But here's the problem: the creative juices just aren't flowin'. I tried a few images and nothing's sticking. My hands want the pencils to do my mind's bidding,but nothing is coming out the way it should. A few of the images I want to work on are going to require many practice drawings, which is what I think the problem is. Right now, I just don't have any patience.
None.
I want to instantly see the happy watercolors on the page and know that I was capable of making something look so happy. I want to see that now.
It's not gonna happen.
Eventually I'll get my brain to grasp this concept and I'll pull out a few good preliminary sketches, or I'll just add paint to a page to get a fix. Either way, this creative sinkhole will fill and I'll be on my artistically driven way.
Eventually.
On a much different note, Mr. F and I went to the Frankfurt temple yesterday. This was an incredible experience for both of us.
About three weeks ago we were sitting in church and all we could hear was "GO TO THE TEMPLE!" Unlike when we were living in Columbus, this is not the easiest task in the world. While Frankfurt is definitely accessible to us, it takes a lot of forethought and money, the latter of which has been exceptionally tight as we job hunt. We've asked friends if they were going and looked at train tickets and plans continuously fell through.
This weekend, we knew we had to go. We decided on Thursday evening to leave the following night. Rent a car, drive to Frankfurt, check into the on-site guest house, wake up in the morning for the first session and play in the city before driving home and returning the car. Thursday night was the last time this plan looked so seamless.
Friday was waylaid by meetings for Mr.F and a car rental company that never seems to have the car we reserved on hand for when we reserved it. Mr. F came home nearly two hours later than we had anticipated, extinguishing our chances of getting to Frankfurt that night. So, we decided on leaving Saturday morning and making it for the English endowment session at 9.
We like sleep, we left at eight.
We drove contently, thinking we had plenty of time to spare until we realized that the GPS had taken us to the wrong location. Our time buffer was gone and we panicked thinking we would be unable to participate in an English session. Find the temple we did, but there was no parking to be had. Mr. F dropped me off so I could rent us some clothes while he drove around the block a few times.
Flustered and at our wits' ends, we entered the temple. The stress of getting us there was gone as everyone welcomed us with their smiles. Kindly workers who spoke English guided us through the sacred halls and helped us get to where we needed to be. We had made it to the temple.
A short while ago I was blog hopping as I was having a rough night. I stumbled across a post from a friend of mine who was spending some time in Ghana this summer. His parents just moved there as well to serve as missionaries for the Church. He wrote a letter to them, telling his top ten reasons why they would love Ghana. His number two reason was the Accra, Ghana temple. He wrote:
"Hands down the most beautiful building in Ghana--probably all of West
Africa. The Accra temple is a pristine house of the Lord in a country
where dust seems to be everywhere. The grounds of the temple are
beautifully maintained with hundreds of species of flowers and trees
(including these amazing fanning palms and bright birds of paradise).
inside the temple is an exceptional peace. The workers are friendly, yet
reverent, and the rooms are familiar, but with a distinct african flair
(kente-cloth geometric patterns, symbolic colors and shapes,
traditional signs, etc.)."
He then adds, "If you ever feel homesick, go here...because it is home."
Living in Western Europe, I can't say that the Frankfurt Temple is the most beautiful building in Germany, but I can say that many of these words ran through my mind as I wandered its halls. The tiny grounds were immaculate with all of my favorite German flowers growing like it was still June, not mid-September. The decorations inside were very simplistic, but very beautiful. Clean lines, no fuss, but fine quality abounded. And everywhere friendly, reverent, happy people.
I sat in one of the rooms and heard in English words I had not heard for several months but that are very dear to my heart. Tears bubbled in my eyes and I knew exactly where I was. I was home. Despite an ocean, several countries, and many languages in between, I was home.
Mr. F expressed a similar experience to me when we were heading home. Our moods and spirits were so much altered after our visit. Where there had been tension, there was nothing but giggles and smiles. Both of us are looking forward to attending the temple with more frequency upon our return to the States in less than two weeks. Our trip to Frankfurt was a stark reminder that we need to go "home" more often.
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