my wall scriptures

Ever since we moved into this house I’ve wanted to make some art piece to put in our master bathroom. Whatever it was, I knew I’d be looking at it over and over again while I brush my teeth, floss, and all the many things you do in a bathroom. So I wanted it to be something worth contemplating over and over. 

I have also been recognizing that my deep, deep love of languages has little place in my life in this season, and I would like to have more. So I decided to make an art piece of a text in another language I could read and re-read and eventually memorize. 

But I didn’t want to take it from the Bible, or so I thought. I have had a complicated relationship with God recently, to say the least. And while I love the study of Scripture, I wasn’t sure I wanted it as the deeply personal art piece I would make for myself. 

I considered passages from the Dao de Jing in Chinese. I considered lines from Star Wars (in Galactic Basic). I considered texts in Tibetan. 

But I was surprised when I realized, deep down, I still felt the most comfort when I imagined something in Hebrew. Something ancient. Something that reflects beliefs and hopes in God, even if they don’t reflect me. 

I ended up choosing the familiar and traditional blessing, Numbers 6:24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

And I loved the piece so much, I decided to make a small Greek piece for the place I probably spend the most time in a day - the kitchen sink! 

I wanted words from Jesus that scholars believe are fairly reliably Jesus, not a later addition. I settled on a version of the Beatitudes from Luke 6:20-21: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”

I can’t wait to let these words sit in my soul and perhaps settle in ways I could not have expected. Because no matter how complicated my relationship with all this is, I still find meaning in joining the human beings who have marveled and meditated on these words for thousands of years.